Experiment
by Borath
Summary: Darkshipping. Warning for Swearing Bakura's POV. Go figure Gist: Yami and Bakura get together, fight off a baddie, and end up running a large gay club. Like you do... Chapter 18
1. Experiment

Experiment

By Borath

Playing with ideas again. I think I'm fixating on this now. I have no beta so excuse any mistakes by *not* pointing them out to me. Thanks.

Yami = Yami-Yugi

Bakura = Yami Bakura

Non-yaio

****

(Bakura's POV)

Something's wrong with the Pharaoh. Not wrong in the sense that it has elicited some pathetic swell of concern in me; wrong in the sense that it is different and I cannot fathom *why*. I hate not knowing. Hate being out of the loop. Not knowing certain things can be dangerous. After all, knowledge is power.

My twerp hikari decided this morning that he wanted to visit him and his hikari. Ryou and Yugi were planning to go to the arcade and Yami was going to stay at the shop and work. Nothing special; Yugi wanted to go act childish and Yami wanted to be boring. What happened just now though was peculiar. 

Yugi moved to hug Yami, something that I have seen exchanged between the two in the past so that wasn't the surprise. The fact that Yami took a small step back when Yugi put his hands on his waist, *away* from the gesture caught my interest sharply. Whether Yugi was hurt and pretending not to be or simply hadn't noticed the motion I do not know, or remotely care, because he wrapped his arms around his dark and Yami's hands came to his shoulders a few seconds later.

A new development here. Interesting. 

I've always enjoyed puzzling things out so instantly I wanted to find out what had transpired to cause this behaviour. There is something else too. Yami stepping away from his hikari does not sit well with me, not in the way in which that I am concerned about their relationship. I'd hang myself if I actually *cared* about them. No, I mean that it doesn't *feel* right. Something is wrong and I want to find out what it is.

So now both of our 'light' halves have gone. I surprised Ryou by saying that I wanted to stay here and pester Yami, and as the Pharaoh didn't seem to give a damn I received no protests.

So now it's just the two of us. I can begin to figure this out now, and the best way to tackle something unknown like this is through trial and error.

Let the experiment begin.

"Pharaoh?" I ask by way of a warning. Yes, I am giving him a warning before I move. I do have some miniscule shred of compassion in me. It's negligible but enough to make me feel something for him as he is obviously troubled.

"What?' he asks back sharply, crimson eyes narrowed now as he regards me suspiciously. Well, his temper hasn't changed much then.

A thought with a bit of effort behind it and I had pulled us both into the Shadow Realm. To perform an experiment one needs to be in the correct environment after all. His expression now is somewhere between a quirked eyebrow and a frown. It looks quite stupid actually.

"Bakura, why-?"

"Be quiet. I want to know what's wrong with you," I ask before he can get his own question out. If I let him ask it then I'd have to explain then he'd demand to leave and ask what I was up to and it would all just get stupidly messy. I like my way better.

He actually looks genuinely puzzled at that. He doesn't know then. How interesting.

"What do you mean 'what's wrong with me'? What have you done?"

See? Instantly blaming me. "You stepped away from your hikari when he moved to touch you. Don't get me wrong; I would do the same thing, but you don't usually. What's changed?"

More confusion. His ignorance is starting to get very irritating. Right, I'll move onto the experiments now that interrogation has proved unfruitful. 

He's stood about five meters away from me in this inky void, if distance could be accurately defined in here anyway, so it would take me about seven steps to reach him. I walk smoothly, slowly, watching him intently. My eyes rove over every inch of him seeking a reaction. A finger-twitch or a foot scuffing to indicate that he was about to bolt would give it all away.

He looks confused as I approach but not anything else. No anger, no fear, just confusion. The tips of my boots are against his now and he still stares at me without flinching. I'm watching his face now, searching. A slightly narrowed or widened eye, a twitch in one of the muscles beneath the socket and I'd know. But nothing.

Proximity isn't the problem. Interesting.

I breathe on his face intentionally, a gentle whisper that he probably won't acknowledge as a purposeful action. A muscle did tick this time and his eyes widened fractionally before returning to normal. Ah, contact is the general problem. But what is it exactly? 

He has little to no memories of his past, this I know for a fact. It's likely that his spirit has remembered something that his mind has forgotten. Actually that's probably what has happened. His spirit was trapped in the Puzzle after he died so his mind was shattered, dispersed. It's taking time to collect together again so there are a lot of blanks.

I on the other hand have an advantage there. I died as a *result* of my spirit being forced into the Ring so my mind remained intact. Some things were lost over time in the dark, alone, but there are few blanks that I have to worry about.

So what blank could this be stemmed from? A lost lover perhaps? I knew little about the Pharaoh when I was alive so that is a possibility. True love never dies in the soul and all that crap. I'll be severely disappointed if that is the case.

I raise a hand to him in as un-hostile a manner as I can, extending my index finger and placing it squarely on his forehead, in the center of where the Eye of Horus would be if he were angry at me. His eyes are a little wider now but not in fear. He's just confused. I would be too if this were the other way around, but no matter.

Slowly, gently, a drag the digit down his forehead and along his nose, running along the tip and pulling across his lips until it falls away at his chin. He blinks at me but remains impassive. He's trying to figure out what I'm doing. He should catch on that I am toying with his mind soon enough, even if it is not an entirely accurate description of what I *am* doing.

He's not going to be too bothered with physical contact with me. An enemy is alright for touch. There's some fear after that combined with the fact that I am scrutinizing him intensely but he's controlling it. How is it that a mortal enemy can run a finger down his face but the other half of his soul cannot embrace him?

I'm not entirely satisfied that I have ruled out a lost lover, so I will continue along this avenue until I am satisfied.

There is a general path from the face to the torso where the nerves sing when touched sensually. If I am right and it was a lost lover then a similar touch would invoke a response from his spirit and as a result his body. It would probably be something-akin fear. If I am wrong he will remain impassive or try to gut me.

Stepping around him marginally so I am more at an angle to him I place my index and second finger against the slightly raised bundle of nerves behind his ear. Repeating my slow, soft actions of earlier I drag both tips down and then just beneath and behind his jaw-line, all the while watching his face intently. 

Not a lost lover then. He is watching me watching him impassively, his pupils slightly dilated now but otherwise the same.

I pull my hand back down to my side when I have followed the thick blood vessel running alongside his jugular to the buckle about his throat, rubbing my fingertips along my thumb absently as if to wipe away the contact. His pupils are normal again now and his eyebrow is quirked. No, I'm not coming onto you so stop thinking that. I'm not exactly playing either.

Where is the difference between what I am doing and what Yugi was doing? Ah yes, entrapment. I merely touched him but didn't hold him; Yugi left him little room to move if he wanted to. 

Experiment two. Let's begin.

I return my fingers to that path again, repeating the lazy motions until his eyes are half-lidded and his guard has fallen. Just like a big cat but this is what I wanted. I need to lull him into a false sense of security or he would break my spine into four pieces before I could make my move.

With his mind distracted I smoothly stepped around and behind him, my hand still repeating exactly the same motions over and over, mimicking exactly what I was doing when I was stood infront of him.

Snapping that arm about his chest abruptly, pinning his arms at his side, I move my free arm around him quickly and trap his hands. He lets out a noise of alarmed surprise before bucking against me, trying to escape the confinement I had him in. I'm stronger than he is but an adrenaline burst in anything is always a little harder to cope with. 

But he fell still before it got to that stage. I was just beginning to have trouble keeping a secure hold on him when he simple stopped. Gave up. It occurs to me now that I could do anything to him and he would let me. Total submission.

Now I'm getting warmer. I wonder if he knows?

Bringing my lips to his ear, I ask in a low voice, "what's wrong with you?"

He jerks a little at my voice and likely moreso at my breath on his skin. "Let me go." I don't like that. It sounds too much like a plea for him. Too much like begging. Does he seriously think that I would ever take this any further? I'm learning enough at this stage. There's no need to do any real damage.

Still, some force is going to be required. "You're not even trying to get away. You've given up. Why should I even consider sparing something that won't even save itself?" 

He shudders a little against me. I must have sparked something. "I don't know," he whispers back.

I was right. Only his spirit knows. He's utterly confused at his own body's actions. He's paralyzed with fear and he doesn't even know why.

"Poor Pharaoh. Still affected by an attack so long ago and you can't even remember it," I murmur to him, my lips still almost touching his skin. He stiffens slightly but still looks confused. I move my fingers marginally against him and feel he tremble. "See?"

'Why are you doing this?" he manages after taking a few seconds to recover from that. There's some anger in his tone now; there would be though, I'm attacking his pride.

"Well, first I was curious and now I'm trying to make you understand," I answer honestly before loosening my grip on him slightly. I want to see what he's going to do before I risk letting go of him entirely. He could still go for my throat if I'm not careful.

"Understand what?" he growls. Yes, he's getting very defensive now. He knows that I know things about him that he doesn't and that ruffles him. Particularly the fact that it's me. Ah well. Better me than one of his other idiot friends. At least I'll tell him straight.

"You're not invulnerable. You never were. You were damaged before you got locked in the Puzzle and the effects are finally catching up with you," I say slowly and clearly as I bring my arms away from him entirely, freezing for a second as he abruptly steps forward and turns on his heel to face me. 

Oh yeah, now we're getting somewhere.

"But what happened won't happen again if you get over this paralysis you have when you get scared and have some spine." 

Good. He's being quiet and just listening to me. His breathing sounds a bit rough even if it is only synthesized considering that we don't need to breath whilst we're in our metaphysical states in the Shadow Realm. I sincerely hope that the twerp doesn't keel over on me. I am throwing rather a lot at him. Well, enough to let his mind put together the rest.

Perhaps some reassuring words, or as non-threatening as I can manage, would be better suited right now.

"You're more powerful now than then. You can wield Shadow Magic when you need to and you're colder in heart and mind than before; ergo, you can cope. But if you don't have faith in your own abilities and get some spine you will be hurt again and again. You're an easy target at the moment and you need to fix that."

"Don't tell me what I need to do," he snaps back instantly. Okay, we have moved from listening to just being angry. Perhaps I should hit him and snap him out of it. 

No, I'd better not. He needs his mind fixed to deal with the messages coming from his soul not having his head kicked in by me. I can do that when he's on top form. It's not so much fun beating on someone who has been weakened by another's hand. Just ruins my fun so there's no point here.

"I'm advising you idiot. It happened. We both don't know *exactly* what but we've got a pretty good idea from the last five minutes. It happened, it's over, it was a long time ago and it won't happen again if you deal with what you feel about it now. Got it?" 

Yes, I think my patience with him *just* went out the window. Ah well. My point will just get across to him that bit faster and more abruptly.

He seemed to debate this internally for a time, his eyes flickering as he seemingly searched the floor for an answer. Finally he met my eyes coolly and opened his mouth hesitantly to speak. "I-. Thank you."

I will not be smug. I will not be smug. Ah, screw it. I am smug and superior. Hang on. Crap! I'm smug and superior through *helping* him! How did that happen again? What started as an experiment on my part somehow mutated at some point to become *helping*. This does not please me.

"Yeah. Whatever. Just get your head straight so I can go back to trying to steal your Puzzle. It's tedious if you just give up and hand it to me," I reply firmly with a glare.

He smiled at me, a small thing that could only be described as indulging. I could slap him.

"Fine," he replies to my statement before narrowing his eyes slightly and wrenching us from this world and back into the normal. Glancing around myself with my eyes to regain my bearings, I tip my head to him marginally before turning and striding out of the shop.

Experiment; complete success with unexpected side effects. Note to self; never do that again.

End

Again, I was procrastinating. What was it this time? English essay. Which I still haven't started. Oh, and Art. Lots and lots of art. Be polite; leave a review.


	2. Complications

Complications

By Borath

This was *going* to be a one-shot you know! Me procrastinating. Get this: I have done this chapter *after* actually *finishing* my homework! Yay me! Am learning discipline. This is good.

Right, I was greatly encouraged by comments that I got Bakura's POV down well, something that I was very worried about which is why I haven't tried being inside the character's head before. It was fun in there last time so I'm staying for this chapter too! Yay!

Saria-the-green-haired made a very good point; 'why was there no yaio?' Now, I quite like that someone is after this so I'm going to stick some in this chapter, nothing hardcore so I don't scare anyone away and I don't have to change the rating, but still a bit of action. There aren't enough fics of this pairing out there and I've said more than once that I'd like a crack at it and now seems as good a time as any so here we go!

This will likely be the last chapter because I *really* don't want this to turn into a series on me. Not when I have 'Game Queen and Then Some' to finish as well as a sequel to 'Submission' to start. God, I'm going to have to balance this with Sixth Form *and* a social life (What? What is this thing?). Busy, busy year ahead of me. 

This chapter mostly deals with Bakura's confusion but I think there's some sort of plot. Probably not but ah well. Another plot-less, time-wasting fic from me then. Cool.

Review and I will be happy. Read on!

****

(Bakura's POV)

The pharaoh is still 'off'. Damn it all I thought I'd fixed this! I honestly thought that I had the problem figured out and that I had rammed the solution down his stubborn little throat. But no. I swear he's being difficult just to spite me.

Well, today is as good as any to have another go at fixing his head. I cracked up laughing when I heard about this because of the sheer stupidity of it; the 'gang' somehow managed to get an arcade machine to catch fire. How they did this I don't know because I didn't know that there was anything *in* one that could do that.

It just proves me right though. I've said it before and I'll say it again; never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups. I swear, if we didn't have schools to distract them they would rule the world. I shudder at the mere thought of Wheeler ruling supreme. 

Well, Tea being the 'super-happy-'go-friendship'' twit that she is has rallied everyone else together to raise money to pay for a new machine. Well, they broke the old one so that makes sense. I'm staying well aware from any do-gooding because it goes against everything that I stand for and Yami, well, Yami is brooding again so I don't think Tea would survive very long in his presence at the moment.

Hmm. That would be amusing. Maybe I should drag him to her and start her off on one of her 'friendship, love and puppies' speeches. Ra, I heard enough of them through Ryou and it almost drove me to blow my cover and slap her. I am strong though and resisted.

Getting back to the matter at hand; Yami and I are back, alone, in the Game Shop all over again. I obviously missed something last time so I'm going to have to pester him and experiment again to *really* fix the problem this time. He barely responded yesterday when I started insulting him and I have a problem with that. This must be fixed. It cannot go on.

I'm facing him now as he leans against the counter in the front of the shop. Narrowing my eyes slightly I begin to gather my powers but cease my actions with a gasp of surprise when I feel myself being pulled into the Shadow Realm by him. This is *not* how it was supposed to go. Now I feel like a toy being pulled around.

"I could tell that you were going to do this again," he replied looking a little smug at my expectant expression. I really hate it when he's right, even when the answer is obvious and he points it out. 

"Yeah, well," he grumble back, a little unsettled now. Get back to the plan and I'll be back on form. "You didn't seem to pay attention last time so I thought I'd drill the point home."

What? Like I'm going to tell him that he's still not right and I'm concerned. Wait. That was a very wrong word. Where in the hell did that come from? I am *not* concerned. I am *irritated* that he is acting different. I think I'll just keep my mouth shut more this time around.

Yami shrugged slightly before quirking a brow at me in a challenging manner and tipping his hip to the side. Cocky little git. He is not doing this properly. Where's the nervous creature that was here last time? I liked playing with that toy. 

He is not going to play with my head by putting on this facade of boldness and normalcy though. Smirking, one of my good ones too, I stroll over towards him confidently and am immensely pleased to see that front flicker a little in his eyes, his stance becoming a little more defensive as his weight moves evenly onto both feet. 

Deciding not to bother with the build up this time, I simply walk behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, grinning when I feel him stiffen. Still got a problem. I knew it. What did I get wrong last time though? Maybe I didn't do enough. Likely as I didn't continue the experiment for as long as I could have. I wasn't thorough enough to get all the results necessary for an accurate conclusion. Easily changed though.

Sending the hand on his shoulder gliding down across his chest I pull him back into me and settle my other arm around his waist, once again pinning his arms to his sides. I thought he was starting to struggle against me but it was merely a flinch before he fell still. I'm not interested now, I'm very confused. What happened? Last time he struggled quite viciously for a few seconds before ceasing. 

Maybe he's gotten it into his head that I'm not going to do anymore than I did last time and so he feels safe. I'll show him how wrong he is. *No-one* should *ever* feel safe when I'm around. I'll take things a little further and see what he does. I'll get his fear of me back where it belongs.

Leaning in slowly so that the heat and intensity of my breath on the back of his neck gradually intensifies, I pause with my lips hovering millimeters above his skin before pressing them against him firmly. Now that got a reaction, not quite the one that I was expecting but a reaction still.

His wrists twisted and his hands curved so that his fingers wrapped around my left arm which still encircled him, his head tipping to the side in what must have been an instinctual manner. Warm skin and a scent that reminds me of cinnamon washes through me and I pull back a little, nuzzling his nape with the tip of my nose to catch more of it.

Wait. Stop. What the hell is happening here?! What am I doing?! No, calm down. It's alright. There is a rational excuse for this. I am *not* enjoying this, it's an experiment. By Ra though, he is nummy. Oh no, I've given him a pet name! No! I'm *not* drowning in his essence. I am *not* starting to get poetic... Damnit!

How long has it been since I've done this though? No, scratch that. It's an embarrassing number just to think of. Oh Ra, I have become a freaking nun! I am *not* celibate. I am not. Right, new plan, I will use Yami. Yes, will use him for my own pleasure and to break celibacy record then break *his* little heart into a million pieces with a sadistic laugh. Yes, I like this new plan.

He's turned his head slightly to try and look at my face now, trying to read me. I guess he's wondering why I've stopped. Is he bothered? Have I confused him? What is going through his head? I wish I knew. No, scratch that as well. I don't *ever* want to understand or even know that is going through the pharaoh's head anytime for any reason. That would be too, intimate.

He makes an odd little sighing sound when I return my mouth to his nape, nipping a little at his skin as I move down against his collar. I am not a gentle person by any means. He knows this and I'm going to make very sure that he does perfectly well.

The arm pinning his own down loosens now and I let my hand slide to his hip, releasing his hands and leaving him free to do as he wishes. I sincerely hope that he doesn't turn around, punch me and then walk away. Or gut me. That would be bad too.

To my immense surprise his left hand covers mine on his side and his right comes up behind him and runs down my cheek. When did this happen again? Why am I letting him do this? An even better question would be why is *he* doing this at all? Don't know and at this very nice moment in time I couldn't actually care less. 

I let him shift around slightly so that he is facing me a little more, my teeth now working on his jaw-line as one of his hands worms up behind my neck and buries itself into my hair. My right hand is still against his chest, mostly for when I get my sanity back and need to push him away violently. It doesn't seem to be planning to make an appearance anytime soon though so I am content to continue this... Whatever this is.

My left hand is still trapped between his hand and his hip, something that I am not entirely content with. I do not like to be dominated in any way, shape or form and although he is not applying any pressure my hand is *trapped*. Will move hand so that I am back in control.

For some reason my hand seems to have developed a mind of its own and is refusing to obey my order to pull away from between his hand and hip. Okay, it's warm and soft there so. I won't overanalyze *that*. I'll just leave it where it is. I'm still in control everywhere else. Yes, I am the dominant person here. He is *not* controlling me. He is not controlling this.

Finally dragging my attention from his jaw to his lips I assert my dominance by demanding entrance instantly and firmly, a little surprised when he submits instantly but continuing with an approving grunt. 

I'm a little worried now that if I keep doing this I will spontaneously combust; the smoldering heat of his mouth is threatening to reduce me to warm ash. His fingers are working against my scalp at the back of my skull now, relieving a tension there that I was unaware I had. 

His hand finally moves away from mine, skirting around my waist and coming to a rest at the small of my back. He's not pulling me or holding me; his hand is simply *there*. He's cottoned on that *I'm* the one in charge here and I make another satisfied sound.

Pulling him against me with my now free hand on his hip I make a damn good attempt to bruise his lips, something that he doesn't seem to disapprove of for he responds just as eagerly. Eager? Hang on, pause, rewind and replay. Yami was formerly a pharaoh of Egypt and possesses the Millennium Puzzle. I was a tomb raider and am in want of said Millennium Puzzle. He knows this as well as I do, so why is he not bothered by what I'm doing?

No, don't spoil it idiot. Just live in the moment. It'll never happen again. And that solemn fact does *not* upset or bother me in the slightest. It doesn't. It *won't*. I refuse to feel anything but contempt for the one in my arms.

But by the Gods he is awfully distracting from that train of thought. I'm suddenly finding myself with the urge to take him home and feed him grapes, something that would have nauseated me before but now doesn't seem like such a bad idea. I wonder if he would approve? I wonder if he likes grapes? 

Stop that right now. 

Great, now I'm talking to myself. He's made me snap completely. I *hate* him and this tingly *feeling* he's causing. Oh, but I could do this all day and all night... No, don't go there. Bad, bad mental image. Well... *No*. They *are* bad and will always be *bad*. Stop enjoying this! You're *using* him! But I don't really *just* want to use him...

Right, assessment made; I have gone insane over the course of the last two minutes. Bloody pharaoh.

I'm fully realizing the perks of not needing to breath in this Realm now because if we hadn't broken apart yet in the normal world we would both surely be good and suffocated now. Pity. I'd miss this. Not *him*. Just the pleasant, sparking feelings being invoked here. Definitely not *him*.

Well, maybe missing him a little wouldn't hurt. You know, missing a good, worthwhile adversary because you won't be able to spar with them anymore? Not missing someone that could have been your lover... Quit thinking that!

Great. On top of being insane and turned on I am now confused. Right, I will ignore all thoughts concerning why this is *wrong* for the moment and just enjoy it. I can always brood later, maybe punch Ryou to take out some of my frustration. Well, I couldn't really though because he's Yami's friend and that would upset him... Okay, I am now starting to care about his *feelings*. What has happened to me? What have I become? 

Oh Ra, I'm domestic. Ryou has rubbed off on me. I am going to have to kill him for this.

Oh, Yami's hand is migrating. His right hand is still firmly lodged in my hair but his left is drifting downwards. Well, if this kiss hasn't proved that he is anything *but* innocent then *this* definitely does. Damn he's good.

Breaking away after a few more seconds I press my forehead against his and take unnecessary but habit-formed panting breaths that match his own, trying to sort out the flurry of thoughts going through my head.

He's the first one to speak. I'm still questioning my sanity.

"I did take your advice," he murmurs, his hand finally leaving my hair and sliding down to rest just above my elbow. 

Alright, that wasn't quite what I expected, but then again I wasn't exactly expecting a declaration of love either. That wouldn't be too bad though. It'd be hard to deal with the mushy crap but the snogging's good. And stuff happens after that which, if this were anything to go by, would be mind-blowing. 

"So why were you still acting weird?" I ask, genuinely wanting to know the answer. Perhaps it would help me to understand what the hell we both just did.

"You. You, confused me."

Well, yeah. I just confused me too. "By doing..."

"Yes. I didn't know what you meant by it. Didn't know if you were playing with my head or just figuring out what was wrong with me."

I tip my head to the side slightly, our foreheads still touching to that I am breathing on his face and he on my throat. This is making coherent thought rather difficult. "It was an experiment. All this is new."

"Good new?"

I pause for a second before answering that, trying to assess what I did think of it before answering honestly. Well, aside from the fact that I may now be more insane than before and Yugi is going to be out for my blood if he ever finds out, it's all good.

"Yeah, good new."

He makes an amused sound now, a deep noise rumbling up from his chest and in his throat. "I won't tell if you won't."

I laugh softly at that, bringing up a hand to brush at the golden bangs that are tickling at the side of my face in an admittedly irritating way. "Deal."

End.

Shorter than Chapter 1, I know, but I didn't know where else to take this and I thought that this was a pretty good place to end. If I think of anything else to add to this I might, operative word there, *might*, do a chapter 3 but as I already said I *cannot* make this a series because I already have enough on my plate as it is.

Be nice. Leave a review. The only reason this chapter even *exists* is because lots of people gave me a positive response to the previous chapter.


	3. Secrets

Lots of reviews so I dredged a Chapter 3 together.  I promised that this wouldn't be a series too, but I have an essay that I'm putting off.  The longest chapter to date so far so I downright *deserve* some reviews.  A virus also wiped this out the first time round so I had to re-type it from scratch.  Credit is due people!

Secrets 

Well, my life sure is changing for the better.  That is, I *think* it's for the better because at the moment everything is good, but when everyone else finds out, and I *do* mean *when*, I can tell that Hell is going to descend upon my life.  And Yami's.  He's kinda an important aspect of what's going on now.

This little affair of ours has been going on for a month now and shows no signs of crashing and burning.  After a few nights of staring at the ceiling and, a lot more productively, swearing at the Heavens, I got used to the idea of having someone important in my life like this and am more comfortable with it than before.  

Oh come on!  Did you really think that I could just 'get close' to someone after spending years wrapped in a cloak of deceit and deception, pretty much killing anyone who crossed my path?  And that all-new sissy-boy poetic streak is still around.  This is *his* fault, but he does things to make me forgive him on a minutely basis so I have no real problems with our, um, 'relationship'.

Yami has a few problems though that I can be a little sympathetic about.  He and his Hikari are phenomenally close, actually to the degree that if I didn't know him better I'd believe he was cheating on me with him.  This is making keeping this thing we have going a secret very difficult for him, almost painful actually.  He hates lying to Yugi, which is what he has to do for us to get a few minutes alone with each other at all.

He isn't stupid though.  He's going to keep his mouth shut.  I don't think that they as a group would accept us as an 'item'.  Well, Yugi would eventually because I'm making Yami happy and Ryou would be too scared of me to object.  The others, well, they would make his life Hell and would definitely be a little more difficult around me.

Keeping this a secret though *has* kept things rather exciting.  It's actually fun playing deceit, when the whole 'Yami and Yugi soul-link-guilt' stuff is swiftly shoved aside of course.  Sneaking off in the night has made things more than a little intense but there have been more than a few close calls that have made us be a little more careful.

Take last week for example.  

I was dozing after our little 'activities', which always wear out even my stamina and Yami was playing lookout.  We were in the park somewhere in the woods having snuck off from the idiots a while ago.  They were swimming I think, I don't know or care, so they were occupied with by the fascinating substance that we higher beings acknowledge as *water*.  

Anyway, I'm drifting when I suddenly hear Yami move, the warm presence against my side disappearing.  Snapping my eyes awake, I find him glaring down at my furiously and straddling my stomach, one hand in a bruising grip on my shoulder and the other one wrapped protectively about the Puzzle hanging just above my nose, keeping the Item close to his chest.

I squirmed a little beneath his weight, which was pressing down on a very bad place to pull this off successfully, before bringing my hands to his throat.  Mouthing an apology to him, I saw him smile softly and blink in understanding before I tightened my grin a little.  It had to be convincing or we couldn't keep getting away with this.  It didn't mean that I hadn't hate doing it though.

Thrusting the shoulder that he had in his hand forward sharply, I started shouting at him inarticulately as he starts doing pretty much the same, although his words come out as little more than grunts with my grip around his throat.  I loosened my hold as much as I dared to get the colour of his face a little less pale, removing one of my hands to make a swipe at the Puzzle.

I was oddly relieved when Joey punched me, flipping Yami off of my body as a result and giving chase to the Chihuahua whilst Yugi sat with Yami on the floor to check if he was okay.  Giving up on the blond teen who is so bad at hiding that it is actually embarrassing to *me*, I take to the trees and move back towards where I left Yami.  

 He had obviously sensed me on some level because he looked back over his shoulder, Yugi's arm looped through his as he was led back to the others.  Smiling a little at me, he nodded sharply before casting his eyes to his Light and saying something to him.  I made a point to nod back, to let him know that I was fine too.  

We both learned a few things that day though.  First, going deeper into the woods next time is highly advisable and secondly, Joey can punch quite well when he really tries.  I had a black eye for a day before my magic could sort it out.

Today we're being careful.

Ryou slept over Yugi's house last night and so I got to tag along.  I swear something is going on between those two but I don't give a damn about my Hikari's love life or Yugi's so they can do what they like without telling me.  Coming to think of it though, it wouldn't be such a bad idea if they were indeed together.  

Ryou'd be here, Yugi'd be distracted.  Yes, I think I'm going to have to take a bit more interest in this.  But, with Sod's law and me being me it'll probably be nothing and I'll have got my hopes up for nothing.

Anyway, Yugi said that I could stay in the spare room as Ryou so nicely pointed out that I hate being in the Ring at night.  That isn't entirely true but I let it pass.  It does afford other interesting opportunities after all.  

Anyway, the little twerps were in Yugi's room and I'm in the spare scowling at the wall.  No reason, just brooding.  Then, Yami suddenly slips in and shuts the door before sticking a chair beneath the handle.  He said that he'd told Yugi some half-arsed story about wanting to 'discus a few things with me' and that they didn't expect him back anytime soon.

Everything rapidly moved away from anything resembling speech and civility a few seconds later and afterwards Yami decided that he couldn't be asked to leave and would spend the entire night with me for once.  It was, dare I say it?  Sweet.  Right, I'm *never* using *that* word again because it shouldn't even be in my vocabulary but it applied at that moment.

I was awake the entire night watching him sleep not wanting to miss a second of the experience and started having this musings somewhere near dawn.  

And the door handle just moved.

Yami, awake and alert instantly, gathers up my clothing from around the room and shoves it under the bed as I struggle under to join it, cursing softly the entire time.  

Yes, I am now hiding under a bed.  But I know that swallowing a whole lot of pride and hiding is far better than standing there in my birthday suit and asking Yami's hikari if we woke him up last night.

So, I'm under the friggin bed and Yami's lying on the mattress between us trying to act normal as the door opens and Yugi walks in.  I think the chair moved at some point during our 'activities' so it wasn't exactly secure anymore.

I hold perfectly still against the wall in the shadows, breathing only enough to keep me conscious and watching Yugi's feet traverse the floor before stopping inches from my nose.  I cannot sneeze.  If I sneeze, I'll die.  All this dust is not helping though.

"Yami?  What are you doing in here?  Where's Bakura?"

"He didn't like what I had to say and left.  I didn't want to disturb you or Ryou so I slept here for the night."

Oh, that was smooth.  I really do respect him for being able to lie that eloquently to the other half of his soul.  Particularly as he is much closer to the other kid than I am to my own twerp.

There is a long, extremely nerve-wracking silence above me before Yugi mumbles an affirmative noise and leaves.  The sound of air being expelled in an extremely relieved tone comes from above me and I remove myself from under the bed, gathering the tattered remains of my dignity.  As much as I hate to admit it Yami has me pretty much wrapped around his little finger. 

The strange and rather uncomfortable thing though is that I don't actually care.  Right, if I had said *that* last month I would have killed *myself*.

Rubbing the grime and dust that I had collected from my little excursion off of my skin as I stand fully, I regard him for a few moments before slipping back under the covers and sitting at his feet against the wall.  There's a long silence that I really want to break by throwing something big and heavy just to make a noise before he speaks up, crimson eyes finally rising from the covers that he seemed to think looked more important than me.

"Joey's coming over later with everyone."

I love that he knows to warn me about these things.  I know him well enough to know what to say most of the time too, although neither one of us would insult the other by saying just what the other person wants to hear.  I'd hit him if he did that to me and he'd definitely do the same.

What I know is going to follow now is somewhat of a game between us so I'll play my part.  Bantering usually leads to other stuff so I'm always eager to participate.  Have to be careful now though because bloody Ryou will be around soon, asking Yami where I am when Yugi has reported back to him.

Standing and dragging my trousers out from under the bed, I untangle the material with a groan of exasperation.  "Do they have to?  Tea I hate and I *know* that she annoys you too, but Joey is just a frigging laxative."

Silence as he turns that most interesting idea over in his head and tries very hard not to smile, but it's quirking the corners of his mouth now as I finally get my damn pants on.  After all, smiling properly would break the rules.  "I take it by that you mean he irritates the-"

"-right out of me, yeah," I finish for him, getting on my knees again to hunt for my shirt.  Oh fantastic; it's inhabited by mothballs.  Might have to punish someone for this.  "I might have to kill him you know.  Or stick him in a card in a dress again," I continue as I shove the offensive thing over my head.  Oh gross, there's a film on my skin now.  And I just said 'gross'.  I have turned into a Valley-Girl.  This is *not* my morning…. Like.

I peek over the collar just as my head pops through to check if he is scowling at me.  Yeah, there it is.  Looks cute when he does that.  Right, must stop thinking *cute*.  Cute is right up there with 'sweet' on my list of words that will never ever pass my lips unless by the hand of someone who is better at torturing than me.  Not likely so my reputation should be safe for all eternity.

"I'll stop you if you try to harm one of my friends," he replies levelly, the scowl still darkening his eyes and the barest flicker of the Eye of Horus flashing on his forehead.

"And how would you do that Little Pharaoh?  You are weak," I growl back.  Oh, shit.  Bad word to say to him.  Shit.  That's worse than 'cute'.  Game over.  Going to crash and burn in a spectacular display of colour now.  I was just starting to really enjoy what we had going too.

Something flickers in his eyes as I watch him with trepidation, a whisper of pain that I sincerely didn't want to cause in their depths.  I told you my poetic streak has yet to die.  Then something snaps inside him and he lunges at me with a growl.  Damn, that lithe body can move a helluvalot faster than you'd think.

Landing with my back against the door with a loud thud that Yugi and Ryou *must've* heard, I find the handle digging into a ridge between two vertebrae and my arms held above my head with one of his hands around my wrists.  

Staring at him levelly I don't let any emotion reach my face, allowing it to remain a stony mask.  Inside my head is a totally different matter though.  I feel concern, admiration and the tiniest most miniscule twinge of fear as I stare into those fires.

A muscle in his cheek twitches as he jaws tightens.  I'm not sure if I offended him or if he's trying to prove something to me.  Perhaps a mixture of both.  I'm usually good at figuring out what's going through his head and heart but right now I'm more concerned with the feeling of the nearing presence of Ryou.  I don't need the Ring on to tell that he is approaching and if Yami wasn't so worked up I think that he would feel Yugi nearing too.

They cannot get in whilst we're like this.  Literally and, well, not literally.  For one I'm being pushing into the door and secondly Yami's got me pinned in a rather compromising position wearing nothing, not even the Puzzle.  If they get in before I can diffuse this or Yami cools himself down there will be an awful lot of questions.  

And probably more than a few bitch-slaps that I will either be dishing out or on the receiving end of.  Come to think of it I'll probably just be on the receiving end of them.

Yami's eyes open a little from where they were slits and he presses my wrists back against the wood a little harder, my shoulders screaming at me from the abuse.  Then he surprises me by crushing his mouth onto my own, passionate and demanding if a little brief.  Pulling back and closing his eyes as he leans his forehead lightly against my chin, his words are more breathed than spoken, a gentle feeling against my throat that I can't help but shiver at.

"I'm not weak."

My throat clicking too loudly for my liking as I swallow, I growl out a response.  "You're not."

Snapping his fingers back from around my wrists, he seems to look over my shoulder and through the wood behind me before his eyes returned to mine with a smirk.  Confusing little critter.  Keeps me on my toes though.

"Damn you Baka!" he suddenly shouts a little louder than necessary.  I have to bite my lip hard not to laugh out loud.  Still leaning against the door, a little more force going into it now that I was making sure that no-one could come in if they tried, I grab the chair that Yami hands to me.  

We both make a point not to scuff it on the floor lest our hikari's hear, propping the back of the piece of furniture beneath the handle just as I reply in an equally loud voice.

"Give me the Puzzle now or I start slashing up hikari's!"

He quirks a brow at me with a grin as he works his way back into his pants.  He should be impressed with that one; I came up with it last week and I've been saving it.  It's fun surprising each other like this.  I'm still watching him of course as he dresses, moving away from the door to the opposite side of the room.

Now, what would make a loud noise without making too much mess?  Not that I care, I just don't want to walk around barefoot on glass.  Ah, a lamp.  Perfect.  

Swearing loudly and convincingly, which it should have been because it was a genuine curse as the bulb was bloody hot, I lob the ugly little thing across the room into the far wall, hitting the skirting board surrounding the door.  I felt Ryou jump in surprise at that through our bond, grinning broadly at the sensation. 

Putting the bulb on the table carefully to prevent it rolling off and making a glass-field on the floor, I start hunting around for my boots whilst Yami tugs on his shirt.  I think we're going to have to find him something else to wear on occasions like this; those buckles are always a problem.

"I'll send you back to the Shadow Realm before you can step a foot towards my Hikari!" he yells back, cursing under his breath immediately afterwards as he starts on the multiple buckles.

My boots firmly on my feet I stand and move over to him, my hands working on the buckles that his nimble fingers haven't yet gotten to.  He finishes his shirt whilst I loop the last buckle around his throat, stroking the soft skin with my fingers before covering it with the leather.  

"You'll be dead and cold before you could even try," I reply, speaking a little quieter than I had intended.

Yami turns his head towards the door as I finish locking the buckle in place, kindly making a point *not* to yell in my ear.  "I'd have your throat for a chalice first."

I look down at him pointedly, watching him smirk at me expectantly.  "You got that off Buffy.  And you are *not* a vampire," I say quietly so that only he can hear me, looking back at him smugly as I burst his bubble.

He looks at me in mock outrage before thumping my shoulder lightly, fighting to get that grin back in check.  Putting on the Puzzle as I drop the Ring about my neck, he gives me one final kiss before stepping back from me.

Running my eyes first over his form before I check my own, I glance a final time around the room to ensure that there is no evidence around that anything untoward happened before tipping my head towards the door.

At his nod, I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull him towards the door, kicking the chair barring the entrance hard and sending it sideways.  Giving something akin to a battle-cry, I wrench open the door before charging out and driving Yami into the far wall, Hikari's scattering in my wake.  

The Game King against the wall now, I fall back with the boot he puts into my chest and swear colourfully when I impact the corner of the doorway we just came out of.  Ryou stares at me obviously at a loss as to what to do and Yugi is yelling at me as he clutches Yami protectively.  

I feel a swell of jealously when the smaller teen's arms wrap around his waist, a steady look from Yami assuring my silently of my place.  I step forward glaring at him before snapping out a hand and grabbing Ryou's sleeve and pushing him in the direction of Yugi's room.  Its an unspoken instruction for him to get his stuff to leave.

Yugi looks truly upset by that motion, staring after my hikari before looking up at Yami.  He thinks that I'm going to take this out on him when we get home.  That wouldn't happen.  I haven't laid a truly threatening finger on Ryou since I got entangled with Yami.  

My frustration at life in general is being taken out far more productively and I have no urge to thump the soft-spoken boy anymore.  I still shout at him of course; it's the only way he's going to toughen up enough to survive in this world.  The day he stands up to me is the day that I will leave him alone entirely.  Still, Ryou's walking on tenterhooks around me obviously fearing that by not attacking him I am 'saving up' for a truly spectacular display of violence.  But I have no intention of doing any such thing.

"Ryou," I say after a moment of consideration, making a point not to glance at Yami whilst I speak.  He turns slowly in the hallway, looking at me with a pitiful amount of fear in his large eyes.  "Don't come for a while or you *will* regret it."

He nods slightly whilst swallowing heavily, all but running back into Yugi's room and I swear I saw a smile on his face just before he ducks out of my line of sight.  I really wish he would just stand up to me.

Yugi, ever the polite one, looked up at me after a few seconds, speaking firmly and with confidence in his voice.  That probably has something to do with the fact that Yami is stood at his shoulder.  Said spirit is watching me again, smirking openly now that it is unseen.

"Thank you for letting Ryou stay, but I think you should leave now."

I let my lip curl at him and take a menacing step towards him, making the disastrous mistake of glancing up at Yami's face.  He smiles at me slowly and proceeds to run his tongue slowly over his teeth, eyes falling into a hooded gaze as he teases me.

He'll be joining me later then.  Goody.

"Fine.  Get him home before dark or I'll test just how good a guardian your yami is," I growl out whilst I bite the inside of my cheek hard against the anticipating smile threatening to break over my features.

Nodding curtly, Yugi takes another look up at Yami and I can sense some telepathic communication passing between them before he moves down the hall to where Ryou is.  He's probably told Yami to be good and not hit me whilst I escort myself out.

Tipping my head to him as he returns the gesture, I turn on my heel and make my way downstairs, pausing at the doorway when I hear voices.

"Yami?  How did Bakura get in?"

"Through the window Aibou."

"But the lock's broken."

Oh bugger.  Maybe it'll be less conspicuous if Yami and I *don't* meet up again later.  I'm a bit tired too.  Yeah.

Oh, Joey the Laxative will be here soon.  Better make my exit now before I can push my boundaries any more.

*****

Be nice; Review.


	4. Bribes

I can't make and won't make this a series.  I can't make and won't make this a series.

Yeah.  You just keeping telling yourself that Borath.

Bribes

I haven't seen Yami in a while because the group seems to have shoved what little brain matter each of them has into one collective consciousness and figured out that *something* is going on between us.  I've caught them giving each of us little sideways glances when they think that we're not looking, but we're watching them all like hawks now.

So, for appearance's sake we've kept at least a few meters away from each other for a fortnight now and I can say with the up-most certainty that if this continues for one more second I will have to kill something to take out my frustration.  It's like being put on a fantastic drug and then having it snatched away again.  

I have noted with some pleasure that Yami isn't enjoying this anymore than I am, fidgeting pretty much constantly in my presence now as I do in his.  Being the *dominant* one in this relationship because that's the only way I can cope with it, I'm going to surprise Yami today by stopping by the Shop whilst everyone is at school.  I've observed that Yami hasn't bothered tagging along with Yugi in the Puzzle as of late, obviously worried that his Light will put two and two together if in his presence for too long.

I told Ryou that I wasn't in the mood for his presence today, which was mostly true, and then took off before he met up with Yugi.  So now I'm lurking, pretty damn well if I might say so, in the alley beside the Game Shop waiting for Yugi to leave.

After he and my twerp Hikari are out of sight a few minutes later I emerge out of the shadows and come around to the back door.  Security camera in the shop itself you know, so I'm being smart by creeping in the back way.  See?  I *am* intelligent.

Right, the back door into the house itself is always locked so I'll need to pick the lock to get in if I want to surprise Yami.  Producing my kit out of my pocket, I open the top of the leather satchel and produce one of the thinner pieces of metal, kneeling down and inserting it into the lock.

Hmm, strange, the door's unlocked.  Damnit.  Yami must be expecting me and left the door open for me to get in.  Well, that only ruins my fun a little so I'll just head in and skip the whole 'surprise' thing.  Get straight to the good stuff.  Actually, this new development makes my plan a whole lot better.  Good day.

Shutting the door behind me, I take a moment to glance around the small kitchen before striding through into the living area.  Obviously Yami's bored and frustrated out of his mind because he's sat upside down on the sofa staring at the television.  Look's cu-no, not *that* word.  He looks, amusing, yes.  A far better word for me.  He looks *amusing* like this.

So, with as much subtly as a club, I move stealthily behind him and jump over the back of the sofa, landing straddling his stomach and holding his shoulders so that he doesn't slide off in surprise and take us both to the floor.  Wait, no, that'd be good.  I let go off his shoulders.

Sliding down with him, we both land in a heap on the floor and I shift back slightly so that I'm sat against his hips allowing him to sit up properly.  I must have surprised him by jumping on him like that because his eyes are like saucers.  Happy saucers but still wide ones.  He must have thought that I was coming though because the door is never unlocked when it's just him at home.

I don't even get to start puzzling this out because all thought is affectively rammed out of my skull when he starts running light kisses down my throat.  Yeah, he missed me too.  I'm happy now.  Feel important and a little smug, but mostly just happy.

Bringing my arms down to his chest, there's a small wrestling match whilst each of us tries to get our hands on the other's clothes.  I can hear a ripping sound when he finally gets to my shirt, my wrists bent at odd angles to get at the buckles on his shirt, but I don't really care about that.  Bloody buckles.  I'm stealing him some new shirts for him the second I can walk again after this.

Shirt is now a bit tattered but, more importantly, off, and I pin him properly whilst working on the last few damnable buckles.  Distracted by his teeth going to the juncture of my neck and shoulder for a few seconds, I pause in my actions in a bit of a haze before getting my hands back to work.  

Success!  Buckle is undone and flesh is exposed and-

"Yami!  I forgot my history book.  Are you here?"

Oh.  Holy.  Fuck.

Panic snaps us both out of the formerly overwhelming feelings of desire and we turn wide eyes on each other.  Yami starts doing up his shirt again whilst I look in an admittedly desperate manner around the room for somewhere to hide.  Spotting the broom cupboard and after a brief but fierce internal debate over my pride I decide that it will suffice.  Deciding that he's taking too long, I hastily help Yami finish sorting out his shirt.  

Kicking the remains of mine under the sofa, I sprint to the cupboard with Yami at my heels and duck inside, hearing Yami force the door shut behind me and taking a few composed breaths before acknowledging Yugi's presence.

It's horribly cramped in here and, oh Ra.  There's something in here that's warm and sorta squidgy.  Hmm, my list of 'words that I must never ever speak' seems to be growing.

Getting back to this something in the cupboard, I squirm around until the 'something' is in front of me rather than behind, squinting in the inky blackness as I try to make out what exactly it is.

"Bakura?"

It's official.  Ra hates me.  It's the only reasonable explanation for why I am locked, half naked in a dark cupboard with Joey the Laxative.  Please, someone kill me now.

"Oh boy, please don't tell that you were out there doing what I think you was doing."

Can I say it but rip your head off first so that you won't hear it?

"What the hell have you done to Yami?!"

Oh!  That's right!  I couldn't *possibly* have seduced him so it *had* to be mind-manipulation!  Where would he get an idea like that?  Oh.  Never-mind.

"What we do is our own business you little freak," I snarl out threateningly.  I really wish I could see so that I could put my hands around his scrawny neck and squeeze every last morsel of life right out of him.  Hmm, if I survive this I'm going to play that happy image over and over in my head many times.

"Don't you call me a freak."

Well this is a new twist.  "And why not?  You are one."

"'Cause Yugi's out there."

Oh crap.  He's got me.

"And if you do anything in here to me I'll just yell real loud and he'll come running, open the door and find you here.  And I'm pretty sure that you don't have a shirt on, which as much as it sickens me, makes things look very bad for you."

Damnit.  I need to sort this most detestable of situations out right now.  I don't sense Yami anywhere near here so logically Yugi isn't close by either.  Yami'll work to keep his Hikari away from this cupboard so it'll be safe to talk, threaten or kill the blond teen without him overhearing and discovering my oh-so-hard-to-explain presence here.

Hang on a minute.

"What the hell are *you* doing here?"

A moment of silence.  Oh, Yugi doesn't know his supposed best friend broke into his house, and during school hours to boot.  A minor positive point.

"I wanted ta know what the heck was up with you guys and when Ryou said that you weren't coming to school today I got to figuring and figured I'd spy on the two of ya.  I thought you were just putting some spell on Yami ta make him evil or summut and that that was why he's been acting all weird."

I smirk in the darkness despite being majorly pissed off with him.  "Surprise."

"Oh yeah."

More silence as each of us considers what would be the best course of action to take.  I'm still all in favour of killing him but that'll only be productive in the short run.  In the long run it would piss of Yami and then I wouldn't get any action.  I am *not* going to beg though.  I refuse to.

"Joey," I begin, lowering myself enough to actually use his name.  "You can't tell anyone about this."

He's smirking at me.  I can't see it but I just *know* he's smirking at me.  I want to rip his face off.  No, must have restraint.

"Yeah?  And why's that?"

I have to think hard to come with something to answer that.  There's the real reason but I can't tell him that because then he'd know that I care and have some semblance of a heart.  Yeah, it black and a bit dead but it's there all the same.  Some snarky remark would be good but in a confined space with him I'm stuck for one of those so a threat will have to do.

"Because I'll rip you open, shove a live cobra in you and staple every orifice in your body closed so it can't get out again."  Ooh, that's good.  I scare myself sometimes.  Will have to brag to Yami about that later and share the mental image that's happily dancing around my head now.

"Alright, now give me a *good* reason not to grass."

Can I kill him?  Please?  Someone tell me that I can kill him.  I, to my shame, don't have anything that I could blackmail with and I've already promised myself that I won't beg so I don't have a lot of choice other than to tell him.  Urgh, I'm going to regret this for the rest of my existence.  Will need to kill something later or steal a few souls to make myself feel better.

"If everyone found out then they'd pretty much make Yami's life Hell.  He doesn't need that right now and I don't want you idiotic mortals dictating what he should and shouldn't do.  He's happy and I want him to stay like that."

Ha!  One advantage to swallowing my pride and reputation is this brilliant stunned silence that I've invoked.  I could give him the littlest nudge with my powers and his mind would crack instantly with the way his head is screwed up now.  Surprise!  I *can* be human!

Not happy about that personally but have confused him so I am smug and superior once again.  Balance is slowly being restored.  I'm counting the milliseconds before *that* all goes to rats' ass.

"So, you're not tryin' to make him evil?"

"No."

"An' you're not tryin' to steal the Puzzle anymore?" 

This is getting tedious already.  "No."

"And he's happy with, this?"

For the last bloody time, "No."

A sigh.  "Well I guess I can live with it.  An' I won't tell anyone.  He didn't look too good a while ago so I think you're doin' summut good because he's cheered up.  Jus' outta curiosity here, how long have you two been..?"

Easy.  "Six weeks and two days."  Hang on.  Is it good or bad that I know that figure?  I could pen it down to the hour if I had a watch.  No, that's just sad.  I'll drop remembering the hour from now on.

He makes a noise that sounds like he's impressed.  What?  He thinks that I'd just get myself a good lay then cast Yami aside?  Alright, initially I was planning to do that but it was all confusing and I really didn't know what to think.  But I could never even consider doing that to him now.  I'm happier than I've ever been in as long as I can remember.

"I never thought you could do a good thing but you've just proved me wrong."  

Compliment or insult?  Don't know or care coming from him.  Just because he's going to keep our little secret doesn't mean that I have to suddenly respect him.  He'll have to kill something big and nasty with his bare hands right in-front of me before *that* could happen.

"I need to talk ta Yami before I can believe ya, you know that right?"

I wouldn't have expected anything less from you.  "Yeah."

I think I just won.  No begging either.  Excellent!  Might be able to categorise this as a good day after all.  That is if I can continue what Yami and I started earlier.  Heads will literally roll if I am deprived for another day.

"I never want to be in a cupboard with you again ever either."

"For once I agree with you entirely."

The door opens suddenly then and I go blind for a moment as my eyes adjust to the sudden abuse.  Laughing when I see the look on Yami's face as he sees Joey with me, I step back out and to his side as Joey exits the cramped space as well.  

Being the overprotective creature that he is, Yami instantly moves so that he is stood slightly in-front of me, protecting me.  I wouldn't let anyone else do this but him and it's funny now that it's entirely unnecessary.

"Joey, I-" he began, a hand rising to begin to emphasise his words.  Or maybe to soothe the other teen when he got angry.

"Yami, it's alright.  Me and Bakura talked in there.  I just gotta know a few things."

I will *not* glare at Joey over Yami's shoulder because that would look really bad.  I hate having my word's worth challenged even if it means squat most of the time.  When it comes to Yami though my word is my bond.  I wouldn't lie to or about him.

Yami nods for Joey to continue and the blond scratches his head, probably for fleas, as he comes up with what he actually wants to know.  Idiot.  But he has me in a very bad position now so I have to let everything slide.  At least until I've gotten locked in a broom cupboard with every member of our group.  Or Tea because then I'd kill myself and there would be nobody to blackmail.

"He's not making ya do anything is he?"

I restrain the outraged growl but my eyes do get a bit bigger as I glare.  How dare he think that!  Yami can sense my fury though and takes my hand behind his back, running his thumb over my knuckles.

"No.  Never."

Joey nods a little satisfied.  "An' you're happy an' all?"

"Better than I've ever been," he replied smoothly and I can see his cheek move from the side as he grins.  My hand is squeezed slightly as he conveys that to me as a solid fact.

Another nod.  I wonder if Kaiba is implying that Joey is one of those nodding dogs that sad people have in the backs of their cars when he calls him a Mutt.  I quite like the image of Joey with a metal peg as a neck that bobs up and down in a little hoop.  I'll tell Yami that one later too, start bantering again.

"I'm not givin' you permission or nuthin' 'cause you don't need it, but you two bein' together is okay by me.  Just outta curiosity though, who started this?"

Good question.  Yami looks at with a puzzled face while I raise my brows at him and shrug slightly.  Well, I think I started the ball rolling but it was him who started the actual relationship thing.

"I think we both did.  I have no idea, it just sort of happened," Yami replies after consulting me.  I'll let that be our answer the next time someone asks I think.  Makes life less difficult.  Shared blame. 

"Okay.  I think I'm gonna head to school now and let you guys, yeah..."

I think that's the best thing he said so far.  Grinning wolfishly, I follow him out if anything just to *lock* the door behind him.  Yugi's nowhere about, evidently having gone a little while after Yami released us from the cupboard.

Yami lets me walk him out alone, dropping back down onto the sofa and stretching out, probably exhausted from the wringer we've just been through.  Not too exhausted I hope.  Finding out that he'd locked me in a cupboard with Joey must've been a negative feeling after working to get Yugi out of the house without getting suspicious.

"Oh, just one more thing," Joey says as he's stood on the threshold of the kitchen door making me very much want to shove him out and lock the thing whilst he's sprawled in the dirt.

"Yes?" I growl out getting a little agitated.  Yami's waiting for me on the couch.  If Joey thinks that I'm going to stand here and converse with him for the next *minute* he's a bigger idiot than I took him for.

"Think I can get some sort of compensation for having to listen to that while I was in the cupboard before you got locked in with me?"

I punch him in the face.  Hard.  I feel a lot better now.  What?  I didn't kill him did I?  No.  Issue closed.  Now, back to business.

****

I will not make this a series.  Review.  I have to complete 'Game Queen and Then Some' so I can't make this a series.  Review.


	5. Confusion

(To the tune of 'Winter Wonderland')

'Nuther chapter, you still reading?

Without a plot, and with no meaning.

We're in Bakura's mind, 

It's romance of a kind,

My reason for 'Game-Queen' fic delays.

Confusion

Ah, two months down and this relationship thing is still fresh and exciting.  Am officially smug and happy.  Yami looks brighter than ever, now even more-so because we only have to be careful around *most* of the group and not all.  

Joey is being a good pup and keeping an eye out for us, preferring to stay on my good side because my very presence is threatening and all.  His sudden want to help us has absolutely nothing to do with being Yami's friend.  It's solely as a result of my threatening presence.  Yes.  I have still got it.  This relationship is *not* making me soft.

Yami's working at the shop today so I'm left in this huge and depressingly lonely house on my own.  Ryou was smart and left for school with Yugi early, pretty much just to keep well out of my way whilst I work out my natural frustration.  I think he shouted something about coming home soon but I wasn't paying him any attention so I don't really know.

With no hope of seeing my lover for quite some time I'm naturally a little agitated.  I have a low tolerance for separation, and no it's not because I'm needy or some weak crap like that.  It's just that my mind has this infuriating habit of drifting to him anytime we're apart and only focusing on what I want it to when he's nearby. 

I wouldn't be surprised if we have some sort of mystical bond growing between us on a subconscious level because we're both yamis.  Hmm, that was pretty insightful for me. I hope it isn't that though; it would be very easy for Yugi and Ryou to find out about this affair if it were.

So, I'm burning off my negative Karma in the living room having shoved all the furniture against the walls so it won't get in my way.  I'm not concerned about breaking it, just about breaking my self when I've gotten into this routine, which I always end up doing, and getting overly enthusiastic.  That always leads to bruising.

It's a fighting style that I've perfected over, literally, years.  What else was I supposed to do in the Ring trapped for what could have been an eternity?  Yami perfected his gaming skills yet even further and Malik went even more insane.  I spent my time productively too by perfecting my killing skills.

Pivot, stretch, kick, pivot. 

It's a very old routine but a complicated one that is always challenging no matter how many times I perform it.  High kicks and low sweeps mixed in with short, sharp punches equal an hour long workout that'll have my muscles burning in a way that can truly be relished.  I'd like a weapon to practice with but Ryou refuses to let me get my hands on a Katana so I'm stuck with physical combat.  Damnit.

I drop and move the majority of my weight to one hand as I sweep my foot around in a low arc, dimly hearing the door open in the hallway behind me through the roaring in my ears as my blood surges.  Ryou's home early then.  Must have forgotten a book or something

Snapping my body back up I bring my boot around in a fluid motion preparing to rest my weight between both to finish the routine.  That is, if my foot hadn't connected solidly with something in midair.  

Taking a step back to account for my loss of balance, I shake my head slightly to clear my sweat-covered bangs from my eyes before looking up to see if I'd done Ryou's torso any serious damage. 

Not seeing anyone, I look down and found myself swallowing my heart back down into my chest.  Oh Ra.  I kicked Yami.  Hard.  In the face no less.  I wonder if I killed him?  Hope not.  

"Nice to see you too," he grunts with a grimace, raising a hand tenderly up to his left eye.  I'm on my knees at his side the second I have regained a semblance of my former composure, my hands going to his elbow and the small of his back to help him sit up.

Opening my mouth to apologise, he shakes his head dismissively and pulls his hand away from his face, squinting at me a little through the damaged eye.  "Don't worry about it; my magic will fix it soon.  Frustrated?"

Well, I'm glad that he's forgiven me so easily as I struggle apologising to anyone including him.  It would have been entirely sincere just now though.  I am sorry to have kicked him in his pretty little face.  Still, no real harm done.  Like he says the Puzzle will sort it out and he's forgiven me already so everything's fine.

"Is this surprise visit to burn off my frustration in other, more pleasurable ways?" I ask smoothly, referring to the underlying meaning in the later of that sentence.

Oh Ra he's frowning.  Too soon to get that after hitting him even if it was an accident.  And what is this feeling that's swelling in my chest and giving me the urge to go get him something nice?  If it's guilt I shall be most displeased.  Understatement.  I'll be downright pissed off.

"I've been thinking," he begins hesitantly, dragging his eyes up to meet mine from where they'd fallen to stare in the vicinity of his knees.

Crap.  Never a good sign.  He's going to break up with me.  No!  That's not right!  I'm enjoying this!  And if *anyone* was going to break this up, should that ever happen, then it would be *me* doing it because *I'm* in charge.  I think.  My pride sure hopes so anyway.

But I don't want to go back to being alone again.  I'm liking the company now and I actually look forward to the days now that I've got something to look forward *to*.  No.  This cannot be it.  I won't let it.  Pride be damned.  I won't let him leave me.

"I know you don't want to but I think it'll be for the best."

Just say it.  Rip what I have left of a heart right out already.

"I think we should tell our Hikari's about us.  They do have a right to know and then we won't have to work to keep this all a secret from them anymore."

I think I surprise him when I suddenly lunge at him, overwhelmingly relieved that he's not deciding that we should go back to how it was before.  I can live with Ryou knowing about this, and I'm sure Yugi'll get used to the idea.  If it'll make Yami happy then I'm all for it.

"If you want to tell them then I won't stop you," I answer somewhat gruffly, sitting back up and rubbing the back of my neck a little subconscious of my previously strange emotional response.  He grins at me and my withered little heart melts at the sight of it.  I made him happy.  Guilt for kicking him has now been alleviated.

Wait.  I just acknowledged that this feeling is guilt.  Wow.  I finally found someone who I care enough about to feel guilty over hitting them.  I never felt guilty like this when I hit Ryou, but there was a reason behind that so I guess I can't really compare.

"Thank you.  Now, you were saying that you were frustrated?"

*****

Yami returned to the Game Shop to close up for the day saying that he'd come over after Yugi walks Ryou here.  That way we can both tell them about 'us' together.  Returning to my earlier problems; my frustration was very effectively removed over a period of time through which a lot of stuff must've been stolen from the shop.  

Yami said that Yugi's Grandpa agreed to run the till whilst he was out but the old man's eyesight means that I could waltz in there wearing bright yellow clothes and a red cape and proceed to steal everything including the shelves without him noticing. 

Hmm, my bitching streak appears to have returned now that the after-glow is over.

Getting up from where I had been lounging languidly on the sofa recovering when I sense Ryou's proximity, I straighten my shirt and move to the front door.  Opening it after restraining the urge not to eavesdrop on the pair, I grin internally at Yugi's surprised and Ryou's startled expressions.  

Stepping aside, I leave the invitation to come inside unspoken.  Obviously not wanting to annoy me by declining they both duck inside.  Still got it.

I usher them into the living area that I had just occupied before standing in the doorway facing them and crossing my arms imposingly.  It may have been defensively.  Telling Yugi that I'm dating his yami feels like, well, like facing something big and scary with lots of pointy, poison-covered teeth.  Not scary *exactly* but still nerve-wracking.  

It's weird.  I don't give a damn whether or not he approves and I'll continue on with or without his consent.   But deep down I need his approval.  He's the other part of Yami's soul and it feels important that I'm accepted by both parts of him.

"Yami and I have got something to tell the both of you," I say by way of an explanation.  Ra I'm getting soft.  Two months ago I would have just told them to stay there and walked away to let them sweat.  

Both teens nod a little to acknowledge that, frowning as they wrack their brains trying to figure out what could be so important to tell them that I'd invite them in and make them sit down.  To tell or not to tell.  Nah, I'll let them suffer until Yami comes.  He's significant in this announcement so I can't and won't say anything until he's arrived.

Hearing a firm knock at the door, I turn on my heel and go to answer it with a nervous yet happy smile on my face.  Yami's here which is always a good thing and he's going to stand next to me and tell this secret that we've both been hiding for so long to the pair sat on the couch. 

The smile fell away at an astronomical speed when I opened the door to reveal Joey.  The Mutt's always got to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  If that's a talent then he's damn good at it.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I snarl out, cursing internally when he doesn't even flinch.  He thinks that Yami's smoothing me over.  Well, perhaps a little but I'm not completely domestic just yet.

"Ryou left his deck at school and I'm taking it back to him.  Why's Yugi here?"

I stare at him levelly, not twitching a single muscle as I wait for that cell in his skull to spasm enough to possibly come up with a reason for Yami's Hikari to be here with mine.  Finally his eyes get wide and understanding dawns!

"You two are tellin' them?!  Aw man, I gotta see this."

The twit begins to step past me inside but I neatly move into his path and block his entrance.  "Not a chance."

He raises his hands to me in the universal sign of surrender. I love it when mortals do that to me.  "I'm just gonna make sure my buds are alright.  I was the first one to know remember so I can help 'em, you know, adjust."

Why the heck would they need to adjust?  He's just trying to get in.  Well, Yami should be arriving soon so I'll let him stick around until I get bored and chuck him back out.  If someone dies there'll also be an extra witness.  I'm not going to begin speculating on who might murder who just yet because at the moment it's anyone's guess.

Stepping back to the side, I glare at him in a way that says 'tell them first and I'll kill you' before moving out of the house entirely and shutting the door.  I'd rather tell Yami that there's an extra person here for this before he gets in the house, even if that debateable human is Joey.  At least he nodded to me when I glared at him, promising to hold his piece until Yami and I could speak.  I really can't wait until this is all out in the open now that I've gotten used to the idea.

A few minutes later after standing outside staring at the sky, I feel Yami close by, a sensation that nudges at the walls of my Soul Room and niggles at my mind making me consider the possibility of a spiritual link between us even more.

Walking towards him as he approaches the house, I stop mid-step when I'm a few meters away from him in shock.  Stopping at my feet he quirks a brow up at me not looking at all impressed.

"I thought you said that your Puzzle would fix that!" I hiss, my eyes glued to the extremely impressive black and blue bruise adorning his left eye socket.  The swelling's gone down but it looks extremely sore and, more importantly, it's *extremely* noticeable.

"Well apparently it hasn't." he snaps back apparently not overly happy with the situation either.  "Is that Joey in the window?"

"Yeah.  He has some half-assed reason for being here but Ryou and Yugi are both inside too. Are you sure we can tell them now?"  I ask a little hesitantly.  I know what they'll think given my history when they see that bruise.  Okay, it's my fault but I didn't mean to do it!  It was a complete accident and I feel guilty so why should I be further punished by having two Hikaris yelling at me?

He nods slightly, bringing a hand up to his bruised eye in what looks like an attempt to hide it.  "I think I should explain this first though."

Nodding myself in agreement, I turn back to face the house and walk up to the door in complete silence, my insides making uncomfortable movements and my heart throbbing somewhere in my throat.  Damn thing feels jammed tight in there.  I wonder if Yami is this nervous?

In answer to my unspoken question I feel his hand slide into my own and give it a gentle squeeze before he gives me a small smile and opens the door.  Releasing him, I close the door behind us and turn around only to cringe at the sight that meets me.

Joey has Yami's chin held firmly in one hand whilst he critically inspects his eye before turning furious, accusative eyes on me.  Yami's squirming in his grip and I can almost see the waves of fear coming off of him from being restrained in such a manner.  

Protectiveness kicking in big time I surge forward and pull my lover back from him, tucking him away behind my back.  I keep my hand on his arm as he places a hand on the small of my back, assuring me that he's alright and that I don't need to hurt, maim or kill the Mongrel who dared touch him in such a way.  

"What the hell have you been doin' ta him?  I oughta put you in the ground for that," he snarls in a rather impressively threatening manner.  Something deep inside me flares in absolute outrage.  I'd never intentionally lay a threatening finger on Yami.  

"It was an accident Joey," Yami says imploringly from behind me, his fingers tightening in my shirt against my flesh as he senses the tension escalating.

"But is that true or are you just sayin' that because he threatened ya?  We all know that he beats on Ryou."

Oh, he is so dead.

"Joey, calm down please!  Bakura hasn't done anything to me in months," my Hikari speaks up from behind him.  I'm not sure when he and Yugi came out but I'm glad that he's trying to diffuse the situation rather than build up the offensive.

"That doesn't change what he did to ya before.  I saw the marks.  We all did.  I guess you got a new punching bag, huh?  I can't believe that Yami didn't leave ya when ya started on him though.  You must've done summut real bad to scare him enough to make him put up with ya like this."

Infuriated beyond seeing now, I don't realize that Yami's moved out from behind me until he starts yelling at Joey.  That last remark not only insulted me to the extent that it almost hurts but he's scathed on Yami's pride too.  I really want to do something extreme like eat his head.

"How dare you accuse Bakura of such things?!  He's done nothing against me and despite what you all think he *is* changing for the better every day.  I just feel honoured that I'm allowed to see it."

Spoken with such fire and passion those words from my lover makes the corner of my mouth twitch in a restrained smile and I soothe the howling beast inside me which wants nothing more than to rip out the blonds throat and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.   

"Yami?  What does Joey mean by you not 'leaving' Bakura?"

"Then where did that bruise come from?  Someone hit ya and I don't think it was a friendly."

"Yami?  Did you hit Yami-Yugi?"

Oh, I'm getting extremely tired of this now.  Let this all be over either by a God striking us all down or a pit opening up beneath us and swallowing us whole.  

"Enough!"

Yami's pissed off too I see.  This should be entertaining.

"Aibou, I've been what you would call 'dating' Bakura for two months.  Joey, this bruise is no one's fault but my own.  I should have been more careful.  Yes Ryou, Bakura hit me but it was an accident.  I was just in the way.  And if anyone has a problem with this arrangement then they can just deal with it because I don't give a damn."

He said all of this on one breath in a rather aggressive posture, blowing the whole 'let's break it to them gently' thing straight to Hell.  The three teens on the receiving end of that outburst merely blinked at him a few times in complete silence.  His hands clenched into fists so tight that his knuckles were white, Yami turned on his heel and strode past me and out of the door.

This leaves me facing the trio on my own now as I debate whether or not following Yami out would be a good idea.  On the one hand a few things need explaining in here and Yami needs some time to cool down.  But on the other hand Joey still looks like he could make a go for my throat and Yami might need my presence more than our Hikaris. 

Decision made.  I turn on my heel without changing my expression in the slightest and head out of the open door, clicking it shut gently behind me.  There's no sign of Yami in the immediate vicinity so where...?

Oh, of course.

Smirking at the stroke of brilliance, I break into a jog and head around the side of the house.  After a few seconds I'm stood infront of the protruding bit of the house over the kitchen window where the room projects out into the garden.  I don't need to look or shout up to know Yami's up there so I take a few steps back and make a run for the wall.  

Jumping, I grasp the edges of the ledge and haul myself up.  Sure enough, Yami's sitting with his back to the wall of the house and his hands on his knees.  His expression is a little spaced out and I can sense a tremor in his aura so he's obviously talking to Yugi.  Come to think of it, I can feel Ryou scratching away at my Soul Room wanting to talk.

Piss off Ryou.  I'm busy.

Satisfied when the sensation stops I shuffle to that I'm sat beside Yami with out shoulders touching, waiting patiently for him to finish conversing with his Hikari. After a few moments he blinks a few times before turning to face me with a smile.  Ah good.  He looks relieved.  They're not out for my blood, which, although they would never get it, would make things rather awkward.

Leaning forward, he places a gentle kiss on my lips before shifting his body around and down so that his head is resting in my lap.  Running my hands through the tri-coloured bangs, I flick at his nose as he stares at me before deciding to break the silence that, although not uncomfortable, needs to be broken.

"I'd say that went rather well."

He snorts with restrained laughter, his expression freezing for a second before he motions with his head to the side.  Sitting up a little straighter, I watch Yugi and Ryou jog to keep up with Joey's longer strides as they make their way around the garden in a pathetic bid to find us.  Apparently Yami wants to be left unfound for a little while.  Not that I'm going to object.

My eyes returning to his when the group is out of sight, I brush my fingers down the ridge of his nose, letting them be caught by his own nimble ones just above his chin.  Tipping my head to the side, a niggling concern rises to the surface and I search his face intently.

"Joey didn't-?"

"No," he interrupts firmly, pressing a kiss to the knuckles of my captured hand.  I stare at him levelly with an unconvinced expression.  I know him; he'll cover up hurts and worries like this until they destroy him unless someone intervenes.  Quirking a brow at me, he smirks and rubs the back of my hand again as a means to convey his point.  "Really, I'm fine.  I told you; I've dealt with it."

Pulling my hand back from his before he can use the weapons that are his lips to completely destroy my questioning, I rest my palm on his stomach.  He frowns at me in mild confusion and his eyes shy away from mine.  "Have you really though?  I worry about you."

Further admittance that I am human and therefor capable of the spectrum of emotion.  But you won't ever catch me crying.  Ever.

He rolls his eyes at me and sighs in frustration.  He's telling the truth; he wouldn't get this annoyed with me for pressing if it was a lie.  "I am fine.  And I don't need you to worry about me."  

"If I don't then who will?" I shoot back instantly, tipping my head to the side and setting my jaw firm.

"Yugi.'

Leaning down slowly with a smirk, I place my lips beside his ear and breathe out my words.  "You are mine as I am yours.  I protect and worry for you as I can see you do for me.  Yugi isn't everything for you now."

I could see how this would be hard for him.  In the past Yami and Yugi were inseparable, and although this had multiple benefits it prevented Yami from being his own person.  He was restrained, locked away some exotic animal in that damn Puzzle, all his darkest elements put on a leash that Yugi would never dare to remove.

I love those dark elements though.  They're a part of him and I accept him as a whole.  Ever since Yami started spending more time away from Yugi he's developed more of his own characteristics.  Little things that he would have never had the chance to do if he were always in Yugi's presence.  He says I'm changing but I think that he's changing a lot more than I.  He's becoming independent.

"That's quite the internal monologue you have there," he murmurs, his hand rising up to sift through my hair before resting on the nape of my neck.

Pulling back a little in surprise, I hang with my face suspended centimetres from his own, his breath whispering against my lips, as mine is his.  Watching his eyes I can see that he's keeping something from me, a little bit of information that he's been toying with inside his mind and not telling me about for his own amusement. 

The little sod knows.

"You can feel it too?"

"A bond?  Yes, it's been growing over the last few weeks.  I didn't want to say anything in case it was just a mistake on my part, but as I could hear you so clearly just now..."

I frown at that, feeling just a little saddened.  "I can only tell when you're close by.  I've never heard you."

Oh Ra that sounded bad.  Heck, it's out there in the open now though so there's squat I can do about it.

"But I can't sense you as you can sense me.  I have no idea of what's going on.  Maybe this thing is developing in stages.  I've never knew that this could happen," he shrugs a little helplessly.  He hates not knowing just as much as I do.

"A yami-bond huh?  This could have some interesting outcomes."

I can twist anything in my sick little mind, usually into something perverted.  He knows me well enough to be able to pick up on my train of thought and reach the conclusions that I usually get to.  Grinning at me broadly now, he runs the pad of his thumb over my lower lip as an indication that he intends to explore those probable outcomes thoroughly.

I'm always happy to oblige him.  I don't think our Hikaris and the Mutt can see us up here even from the end of the garden, but I still think we should head inside.  And lock the door.  After checking every cupboard.

Yami-bonding.  This was an aspect that I had not anticipated.  I wonder what other surprises this little road of ours will present us with.  

I can't wait to find out.

****

Longest part of this series to date.  Nearly killed me to write it too.  And I really *really* am going to cop it from the folks reading 'Game Queen and Then Some' because I've been writing this instead of doing the final three chapters for that.  I needed a break before my brain melted.  So bloody sue me.

If you're happy with these random little events that I have happening, note that in a review with an opinion and I'll continue in this trend.  I have no idea what's happening now as life is mad and I don't have another idea yet for this fic, which I usually do by now, so we'll see what happens.  I have *an* idea for something that would span over more than one chapter, but it's not solid yet.

My first Yami/Bakura fic EVER so an opinion is needed.  Even if it is plot-less, meaningless crap.

Oh, if I've inspired anyone to do a fic based on any of this then let me know, write it and then let me read it.  I regret missing out the lemon scenes in just about every chapter, but I'm pathetically squeamish and just can't write them.  Weird; I can spend three pages nailing a guy to a wall but copulating is a problem.  So, write, send links, I don't care.  Review me though and make me a happy little writer.  Thanks. 


	6. Corrupted

Computer is sick again so I've written this when I should have been working at school.  I didn't have a copy of 'Game Queen and Then Some' on that system so I had to do this instead.  Feel fortunate.  I have not checked this through very thoroughly because I couldn't be asked.  Deal with it by not pointing out my mistakes.  Cheers.

Corrupted 

I *love* this bond!  

One week after Yami and I admitted its presence to each other it had reached what could only be completion and, in all respects, so did we.  Oh Ra that sounded pathetic.  But, I'm in a good mood so I couldn't give a damn.  Besides, 'completion' is the most appropriate word I can think of for what we have now.

I can feel what he feels and know what he knows, something that was unnerving at first but, now that we have it under control, is utterly wonderful.  I haven't been this happy *ever* and I didn't think I was capable of this depth of emotion.

We spent most of the day in the Shadow Realm last week, the best way to adjust the shields surrounding our individual Soul Rooms to the bond being to work on them in a metaphysical state.  In the Shadow Realm our shields are literally walls and it took us both a long time to re-work their structures so we could have selected privacy from each other when we wanted it.

We rarely use the new shields against each other though; keeping the bond open so that we can talk to each other without our Hikari's overhearing that which they are too young to hear is now a favourite activity between us.  Actually, Yami would say that old women are too young to hear most of what we say to each other.

Ryou and Yugi took the news of our relationship better than either of us could anticipate.  They actually arrange to meet outside of school more often now so that we can get together in private.  Yugi's spare room has also become exceedingly useful recently.

Yami and I are both very open about each other now, something that I had a problem adjusting to at first but eventually came around to.  I found it strange to allow others to see what I thought and felt, people that I once considered blood enemies but are now tied to me through my lover.  

Still, snuggling-damnit!  What is it with me and these lame words?!  Right, I like that Yami and I can *hold* each other on the sofa even when the Hikari's are around.  Good.  Better. By Ra that list is getting long now.

The only obstacle left is Anzu and Honda.  Well, I don't give a damn what they think and because as Yugi accepted this so well Yami isn't worried about telling them.  How to do it though…  I can think of a number of rather interesting and sadistically fun ways to break the news to them.  But, I promised to be good and my word is my bound to Yami.  It's squat to the rest of the world but to him it's iron-clad.

I'd still like to make fun of them a bit when we do tell them.  Anzu particularly deserves it but not too severely as she has provided Yami and I with endless hours of amusement through aiding us in corrupting the Smurfs.  Yes, Smurfs.  Those queer little blue things that run around acting stupid with white hats on whilst that cool bloke with the cat tries to kill them all.  Well, I've said before that my twisted mind can pervert anything and Anzu just gave me incentive on this occasion.

I was stuck at home tending to Ryou who had a vicious cold and Yami was in the Puzzle at school with Yugi.  I knew for sure that I'd gone soft when my twerp sneezed all over the place and I mindlessly handed him a tissue.  Said twerp stared at me like I'd grown a second and third head for a full minute before smiling and thanking me quietly, accepting the shred of fluffy paper.

Anyway, back to the Smurfs.  

Ryou was napping so I delved into the bond and watched through Yami's eyes, more or less out of boredom.  And I missed him.  I am *not* needy.  I'm not.  

It was lunch or summut and Anzu was eating this blue ice-pop thing.  Well, when she was done and I was cracking up at home twisting the image with Yami scolding me the entire time, Yugi pointed out that all the crap in the thing had made her tongue blue.  Quick as you please I stated pointedly into Yami's mind that 'it looked like she'd blown a Smurf'.

Yami cracks up instantly practically rolling on the floor with laughter and has to move back into the Puzzle to calm down.  I didn't find out until later that Yugi had been about to ask Yami something at the same time that I had spoken so the bonds kinda crossed and he heard it too.  He was more embarrassed than amused, naïve little thing, so it's mostly our joke.

It all went downhill from there and Yami and I often watch the stupid cartoon together for the sole purpose of twisting it in every possible way.  It's nice.  Every Sunday morning we curl up next to each other at my house and pervert the Smurfs.  So far we have come up with numerous 'emergency uses' for those hats, ascertained that Papa Smurf is gay and can't look at each other straight when someone says either of the words 'blue' or 'heads'.

Sick, twisted 'n' happy.  Best way to be.

So, how to tell the clueless pair?  I mean, we aren't entirely discreet about it anymore so they must have some inkling of suspicion.  Either that or they're so narrow-minded to think that a relationship between us would never ever work out.  Ha.  Proved them wrong.  I feel some measure of pity for them though.  After all, it must be really hard to hear with your head *that* far up your ass.

I've spent all of this morning trying to find the best words for it but am at a loss.  I want to do something truly spectacular, being the dramatist that I am, like dragging Yami to the ground or something similar.  I don't think he'd approve that much but I could be wrong.  He's out of the Puzzle almost constantly now and as a result the darkest elements of his personality have come to bear.  Him making more comments than I do about the Smurfs is evidence enough for that assessment.  

We've decided to let them know when we meet up in… oh shit-now.  So, running now to get to the arcade because I was an idiot and said that I'd meet everyone, including Ryou there and I can't teleport back into the Ring at this distance.

/Are you coming?/

Sending a mental scowl at the amused voice in my head, I continue at break-neck speed until the arcade is in sight.  Skidding to stop, I focus on the Ring around my Hikari's neck and move my form into it.  Snapping my eyes open, I make a point to sort out my appearance a little before appearing in a flash of light at Ryou's side.  I love making an entrance.  

Yami tips his hip to the side with crossed arms and a quirked brow as he regards me silently from behind the others.  I frown at him.  /I got here didn't I?/

/Flustered and with your hair a mess but yes/ he sends back, blowing me a silent kiss and smirking as I chew on the inside of my cheek.  I haven't seen him all day and nothing would make me happier than dragging him over to a slot machine and shoving his body against it.  Oh, bad thoughts.  Good in some respects but I'm stood in front of everyone so they are also very. Very bad.

"Are you alright Yami?  You look upset?" Ryou asks from my shoulder, placing a gentle hand on my elbow as he looks up at me.

Damning whatever gives me the ability to blush to Hell, I shrug off the unwanted hand and nod slightly.  Yami's running his tongue over his teeth again now, the bloody tease.  He loves doing this to me.  Bet Yugi doesn't know that.

/Stop it before I take you here and now/ I threaten.  I mean it too.

/Go ahead/ he replies challenging.  He thinks I'm joking.  I'll show him.

It's funny how wide his eyes go when I take an intent step towards him, shoving Joey and Ryou out of my way before Yugi and Honda block my route.  Anzu has moved to stand protectively in front of Yami as he stares at me looking both startled and bemused.  How sweet.  Guess what girlie…  

I hear a 'thunk' from behind me and then the sound of sirens and rattling change, looking over my shoulder with mild interest, all the noise and colours distracting me momentarily from my target.  Joey appears to have rammed his head into the slot machine by the door when I shoved him, sending is haywire and making it spit change on his head from where he is sat in a heap on the floor.

His expression is that of the almost-unconscious and the Christmas-has-come-early, shoving the change into his pockets and twitching as masses of it runs down the back of his shirt.  It's all small units so I have no interest in taking it off him.  Why would I?  It's not like I actually *pay* for anything; it would just be a stupid pile of coins that I have no use for.

So, I take the piss instead.

"I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public yet again Mutt," I growl out, standing over him imposingly with my arms crossed.  The light from the window is casting my shadow over him so it looks really cool, like something out of one of those horror flicks.  

The teen scowls at me and I hear Anzu huff from behind.  Urgh, here we go.  A 'let's treat our friends of nature as equals' and all that crap speech is about to be let loose.  Someone please throttle her so I don't have to bother.

"Yami Bakura!  That was so rude!" she exclaims, planting her hands on her hips as she scowls at me.  Heh.  She looks like a duck doing that.  I send a mental image of her with a beak and feathers in that position over to Yami and feel him tense as he tries not to snort with laughter.

"I'm not being rude," I begin as I turn to face her, widening my eyes a little to make my face more open and honest.   I really have gotten good at that.  I got out of the station once with that face when I went temporarily insane and thought it would be nice to get a pet for Yami.  He likes animals so I thought it would be a good gift.  The goldfish thing didn't work out all that good but I didn't get done for shoplifting so all was fine. 

I'm officially on a first name basis with all of the police now which is an impressive accomplishment for me, you know, having restrained myself enough not to kill them all.  I still haven't got the smell out of my pockets though. 

I look back down at Joey now who is no longer under an active shower of coins.  "You're just insignificant."

/That was uncalled for/ Yami tells me through the bond. He can't fool me though; that's definitely laughter in the back of his head that I can 'hear'.

Joey looks at Yami before casting his eyes back to me pointedly.  Oh, a threat.  That's big of you kid.  Bring it on bitch.

"You'd better start talkin' to me better Bakura," he says slowly as he stands, forcing the last of the coins into his pockets as he practically stands on my toes.  Trying to act imposing and dominating.  Sorry Pup; I'm the master of it.

"Or you'll what?" I sneer back.  /You okay with this?/

Not getting a response at all from Yami, I swallow heavily thinking that this might not have been the best of ideas but force myself to keep my eyes on the blond rather than check anxiously on my lover.

"I'll tell them," Joey replies firmly, eyes narrowing slightly as his face sets.

Now, ordinarily I'd call his bluff because I'm pretty sure that he's kidding.  I don't believe that he would risk hurting Yami by flapping about something this personal when it's not his right to.  I can't do much because I don't want to hurt him either.  

I know that Yami doesn't mind them knowing, but I don't think that this is quite the scenario that he had in mind when he said that he was 'fine' with it.  He's closed our bond off so I'm on my own.  I don't have a lot of choice other than to swallow my considerable pride, *again*, and back down.

"'Tell them' what, Joey?" Honda asks curiously frowning at the confrontation between us.  Yep, there's quite a bit of tension here but that's the least of my concerns.  Yami's still closed off from me.

Joey opens his mouth and my eyes widen, fully prepared to clamp my hand over his mouth to stop him saying that which I didn't believe he actually would.  I didn't get the chance though because Yami beats us both to the punch.

"I'm screwing Bakura."

There's a *big* silence as everyone gapes at him, including me.  Well, I hadn't expected it in *those* words.  He strolls over to me through the frozen group, reaching out and flicking some of my fringe out of my face.  /You wanted dramatic/ he states flatly sounding smug.

Ra I love him for this.  Hmm, when did that happen?  Didn't know my black, shrivelled little raisin of a heart was capable of love.  Ah well.  The sex is good and Yami's almost as dark as I am on a good day.  I can live with this.

I haven't moved yet and he's not too happy about that apparently.  He wants a show and will *make* me oblige him.  I can't believe that he's come this far in such a short space of time considering his condition when we started out on this thing.

Running his fingers into my hair, he clenches his fist around a handful and jerks my face down to his.  How pathetic.  Ryou just fainted.  And Anzu and Honda are making some rather funny noises as Yugi tries to calm them down.  Not interested in that though because Yami's pulling me close now and that's all that matters.

Breaking away, we lean our heads against each other and turn our faces slowly to face them, matching smirks on our faces.  I can feel him gather his magic and then we're both deposited into the Shadow Realm.  We couldn't exactly continue this in the arcade; that carpet would definitely leave burns and I'm still trying to figure out how I got that one on my stomach.

Dropping to our knees, we continue now that the need to breath has been alleviated until a though flitters across my mind and I break away from him roughly.  He frowns at me from his position on the floor from where I shoved him, looking marginally hurt but mostly just concerned.

/What's wrong?/

I fumble for the words to voice my outrage, my hands going to my head as I grit my teeth until my jaw hurts.  /I just made the friggin' Laxative hit the jackpot.  I was the one who rammed his head into the damned machine./

I do not like doing nice things.  Never have and never will.  Unless Yami's on the received end of them of course.

He chuckles at that, shoving himself back up onto his knees and pulling my head against his chest.  I have a sweet spot on the back of my neck and he knows just how to exploit it.  With nimble fingers working on my nape I'm practically purring.

/I think we should stay in here until Anzu and Honda have calmed down.  Yugi says that she's in tears and he's white/

I move back and attack his mouth again, making use of the handy fact that we can talk through this bond without actually removing our tongues from each other's throats.  /I'm not complaining/

Then the bond goes quiet as we get distracted with other very nice things.  I'm still laughing though.  'I'm screwing Bakura'.  Now why didn't I come up with something like that?

****

No ideas have struck me as to what to do to the guys next so if you have a suggestion, chuck it at me and I'll mull it over before I use it and take all the credit…  Just review me and make me happy.  


	7. Panic

Right, I don't really know what I was on when I wrote this so this chapter may/will appear strange and unusual.  Leave a review all the same though and make me happy.  Thanks!

I don't usually do this but Pachelbel wrote such nice things and left such a cool review that I felt that I just *had* to respond to it.  Story is further down if you don't want to bother with it.

Pachelbel: Borath, I hate you SO much right now. 

Borath: Oh cheers!

P: Gah! Okay, here's the deal. I have come to love your writing, therefore I decided I needed to read all of your fics. 

B: (Grins insanely) Thank you!****

P: Luckily, my dad was in the shower and the computer was free. As I was in a Bakura mood, I chose this one. 

B: The only reason this fiction exists was because I was in Bakura mode one day.  Unfortunately I'm still not out of that mode…

P: Then my dad starts saying things like "What the hell are you doing on the computer?! We need to go NOW!" and then I got very annoyed with the new college that's been stalking me, because I had to go to this expo thingamabob and couldn't finish your story.  
  


B: Been there, done that.  That intruding aspect of collage utterly and completely sucks.  I read in my free periods and the bell demanding that I move my ass usually rings at the best part in the story.

P: So in between the rush to find my cats and stuff them away for the weekend and answer stupid questions like "Are you SURE you're packed?", I tried to print out all six chapters of 'Experiment'. 

B: Aw.  I'm flattered.  You'd kill trees for me?  This *is* rather a long fic now you know…

P: YEAH. THAT worked like a charm, let me tell ya.  
  


B: I can sense tension in this review concerning that topic.  

P: So I got stuck with Chapters 2, half of 3, 4, and 6.

B: I bet *you* got confused pretty damn quick!

P: THEN I was pouting for a while, then tried to put it all out of my mind so I could enjoy my 'vacation' time.  
  


B: Lucky sod.  I'm stuck in merry old England working and you're off swaning around on holiday!

P: That didn't work as well as I'd planned. Wound up having a truly freaky dream involving Yami and Bakura and me. *sigh*.  
  


B: You said that just to make me jealous.  Evil.

P: Now on to the real story review (you should be happy my dad's computer hates me and didn't give up all the chapters, because otherwise I might not have reviewed). 

B: I'm very happy that your dad's computer hates you because I'm loving the praise here!

P: Oh boy, this will take some time.  
  


B: It hasn't already?!

P: Yours is the most (er, the *only*) tastefully done romance I've ever read on this site...or anywhere, come to think of how much I (usually) detest romances. 

B: Thank you!  All warm, fuzzy and flattered now.

P: What's completely mind boggling is that it is YAOI. 

B: No, what I found mind-boggling is that it *became* one.  I was just abusing Yami (again) and Saria the Green Haired asked where the yaoi was, then it mutated into one.  The rest is history.

P: Do you know how HARD it seems to be for people to write good yaoi????? 

B: Do you know how hard it is writing this fic?!  I've read so many their polluting my mind!

P: There are NO cliches in the "snogging" scenes. 

B: That's what I meant by 'pollution'.  I hate clichés because they read terribly and I don't think Bakura-the-sudden-poet would exactly think them.

P: That's what irritates me most about romances; the flipping cliches! It's like they copy and paste each other's work! 

B: I have read a few that don't follow the same formula but sodding ff.net has taken them down.  BASTARDS!!!  *cough*  Sorry.  Emotional outburst.  Beware ranting now.

P: Yours is ORIGINAL, the creme de la creme!  
  


B: Due to the fact that this is the only Yami/Bakura pairing from Bakura's POV; it's not too hard to keep original.  I'm loving the praise by the way.

P: I also hate when Bakura gets paired with anyone in a relationship where he isn't just using them. 

B: Nice aren't you?!

P: Do I anymore? NO. Curse you, you've changed my mind and outlook on far too many things with this story. 

B: Um…  Sorry?

P: I hope my heart doesn't get all bruised from being so high in expectations from other authors...might actually coax me to flame them if that turns out to be the case.  
  


B: I'm flattered, really.  I love your stuff ('Yami-Yugi's Diary' is one of the best fics on this site and I can't wait for the next installment of 'Yami-Yugi Moves Out') and I find it brilliant when someone who's writing skills I adore praises mine.  Warm and tingly.

P: Okay, WRITE ANOTHER CHAPTER! 

B: Scroll down.

P: TURN THIS INTO A SERIES!

B: I think it is one.  But I don't have to admit it!  Ha!

P: (or at least admit that's what it is, and a very good one at that). 

B: It is not a series.  It is a multi-chaptered fiction that is mutating on me and killing all time for the other fics that are still waiting to be completed.  I said that it wasn't a series at the beginning and I don't admit my mistakes easily.  You're going to have to torture me for a very long time to get me to cough up the 's' word.  Urgh.  Shouldn't have had chocolate for breakfast..  Am rambling…  

P: You need ideas?

B: Well, the presence of this chapter indicates otherwise but because this is multi-chaptered (Note; and *not* a series) I could do with a few.

P: Okay, let's see....uhm...LoL, I loved the Bakura-gets-Yami-a-pet thing...

B: A one-shot where he gets Ryou a hamster (evil, mutant, spawn of Satan creature) now exists.

P: so he ought to take Yami shopping for easier to do and undo buckled shirts. :D It's been their bane for four chapters now! 

B: I know.  I'm a meanie.  Right.  Will send the boys shopping.  

P: Right, I think that's long enough, so I'll just go back to adding this to my faves and reading.

B: You do that.  I love long reviews though (as opposed to single sentence ones) so do this again!  Please!

Panic 

If there is one thing I love about Sundays, aside from the fact that I can egg the mortals going to church and the Smurfs are on, it's that I have Yami all to myself all day.  It was Joey's birthday yesterday and he was stupid enough to invite me to the party being held at Mai's house, probably because I'm attached to Yami now and one of us going without the other would probably lead to a temper tantrum.

Anyway, there was a sufficient amount of alcohol and Joey passed out (weakling) three hours into the celebrations.  I put waxing strips liberated from the hostess's toiletry bag on his eyebrows and then took a photo of Honda pulling them off so I had a good time.  There is something to be said of modern-day devices.  The photo is priceless.  

So, this morning, I was unusually hung-over.  Alcohol doesn't tend to kick me in the head too badly but there were a lot of shots this morning so now it feels like someone is attacking me with that space-ship piloted by the bald guy on telly.  A good remedy for a hangover is a long hot shower, and since Yami was over anyway and in a similar state, we figured that showering together was the best option available.  And no, it's not only for the purpose of saving water.  Actually from the way things are going now we're going to use all of the hot water for the day in one go.

I find his hair fascinating so I made a point of standing behind him so I could wash it, toying with the multi-colored strands and getting slapped when I told him that he looked cute with his hair matted.  I hit him back when he said pretty much the same thing to me, although I think my slap was actually warranted because he used the words 'drowned' and 'mouse' in his description.

Right now I'm working up a lather over his shoulder blades and he's being a good boy and standing still.  I can tell he's having a problem with that but I have a headache and I'll be damned if he uses that weakness to his advantage.  He's going to stay where he is until I see fit.

/We're going shopping later by the way/ I tell him as I work my fingers firmly into the muscles leading up to his neck.  /If I have to battle with one more damn buckle today I'll scream/

He makes an amused sound and starts to turn around, rolling his eyes slightly when I snap my hands up and hold him still.  I still haven't finished washing his back and he's been teasing me all week.  It's my turn now.  

/I agree.  Can we stay in until then?  I don't feel all that well/

I frown at that.  He hasn't been feeling 'all that well' for three days now, which shouldn't be able to happen because of the Puzzle.  I hope he's not going to get too sick on me; I'd get very pissed off if I had to dote on another cold-ridden entity in this life.  Ryou was bad enough.  

I had to hide in the Ring for a whole day whilst the smell of that crap in the bowl left the house.  How Ryou didn't die inhaling it with a towel over his head and the bowl I'll know.  Then he stank of menthol or summut for a week and I really wanted to dunk him in oil or similar just to get rid of the smell.

Come to think of it, the Puzzle should have sorted out any illness Yami has within a few days, and it took three days for that black eye to disappear when I accidentally kicked him.  Is the Puzzle broken or is there a bigger problem here that neither of us know about?

/Are you alright?/ Yami prompts, startling me out of my train of thought.  We've perfected filtering certain thoughts from each other so I can muse about how hot his ass looks in black leather with or without him hearing at whim.  I realize that I've had my hands in the same position on his back for a full minute now, my body freezing as it tends to when I'm deep in thought.

Rubbing his forearms apologetically, I turn him around and sweep some of the gold bangs out his face, moving slightly so that the brunt of the water is taken by my back and not by his face.  "A better question would be are *you* alright?"

He looks mildly surprised that I have shifted out of the bond; I only do that when I'm being serious with him.  He tries to diffuse some of my concern by cocking a brow at me and smiling in a way that says 'you soft-touch, fawning over me like a cat over a kitten'.  "I'm hung-over.  It'll pass in a few hours."

I open my mouth to press the subject but snap it shut again as I actually *think* about it.  What would I say?  That I'm concerned because he's a little paler than usual?  How sappy would that sound?!  I'll drop it.  Focus on what I can do to him when he's feeling better.  Urgh.  Thinking is making my head hurt again.  I'll just finish cleaning him up, sort myself out and then we can collapse on the sofa and watch the Smurfs.  

I might ask him where he got that bruise on the back of his left thigh first though.  Looks worrying.  Did I do that?  My memory isn't exactly intact just yet; unlike mortals I don't forget anything, but after alcohol the recall time for a memory is a heck of a lot longer than usual.  It'll come to me in about an hour but I'm feeling very protective this morning so I want to know now so I can go smash someone's head in.  Then they can have a head that feels like mine.

/You did that before you ask/

I frown at that.  /How exactly?/

/I believe you grabbed my ankle and we fell off the roof at some point.  I'm not sure.  I'm not sure if I really want to remember either/

The scary thing is I don't even remember there being an outside to the house.  I remember being inside and waking up with my feet in the kitchen sink and my face by the kettle, which made me yell very loudly upon waking as the first thing I saw was this huge, distorted eye staring at me.  Said yell made my head explode in pain and Yam throw the butter at me from where he had collapsed against the fridge.

We wake up in weird places after binge drinking I find.  The strangest place we returned to the world of the living in was either the fishing boat, which took us five hours to get back home from, or the middle of the golf course three miles away from where the party had actually taken place.  I think we had a bonfire for the little flags by the holes in the ground at some point because the charred remains were smoking next to where we were curled up against each other.

Good times.  But if Yami snuffs it because of this sickness then we won't be able to do this stuff anymore and I will be most pissed off.  Hope he's going to be alright.  I like having him around and I'm not done corrupting him yet.  Anzu told me the other day that I bring out the worst in him.  There are no words to describe how good I felt hearing that.

****

"How about-?"

"No."

"But-"

"I said no."

"I'm the one who has to wear it!"

"And I'm the one who has to get it off of you!  It's my decision!"

Yami huffs at me and dumps the fifth shirt that he's picked up back onto the wrack.  I've decided that there is *definitely* something wrong with him now as he usually puts up more of a fight if he disagrees with me.  Either that or I'm getting paranoid.  

I've been inspecting him when he isn't looking or 'listening', looking for signs of weight-loss or similar.  If anything he seems to have put on a bit of weight.  I should ask him about that.

/Have you been binge-eating when I'm not around?/

He quirks a brow at me as he holds a deep blue shirt against himself for my approval, smiling with mild amusement. I nod slightly not really thinking about the shirt, but I see his look of relief as he slings the item over his shoulder and starts rummaging for another article.  

/You think I'm getting fat?/

Ooh, *that's* a dangerous question.  

It's like when a woman asks you what you think of her hair.  You can say one of three things with varying responses.  The first is the acceptance response; 'It looks fine' to which she will respond 'No it *bloody* doesn't you liar!' and storm off leaving you stood there like a lemon not knowing what to do next.

The second is the honest response, often accompanied by some kind of hand gesture and cautious facial expression; 'Well, it could use a little work' to which she will scream 'Does it?!' which leaves you with a rabid bitch for the rest of the evening and, quite likely, week.

The third is the cowards' response, always accompanied by a hasty retreat to somewhere that is nowhere near where she is; 'Fuck off.  I'm not getting involved' to which she can say *sod* *all*, which is fantastic.  I had a wife back in Egypt so depressingly enough I know these things.  

I usually used the cowards' response or merely glared imposingly until she backed off.  Women are quite simple to handle if you know how and thankfully Yami is not as hormonal as a woman so I should be able to answer his question without getting castrated or threatened with celibacy.

/I think you've put on a bit of weight, yes/ I answer carefully, trying to make my mental voice and outward appearance appear confident.  

/That's because I'm actually eating more often now rather than being stuck in the Puzzle all the time.  I'm bound to put on a little weight; it's not like I'm pregnant/ he replies with a genuine smile and a mental laugh, turning his back on me as he returns his attention to the clothes wrack.

I *know* that that was a joke and meant as nothing more than one but from the way my face seems to have frozen and the way I can feel ice in my gut, my mind is apparently not taking it as one.  After a few seconds off staring at Yami's back in blind shock I actually begin to think about that logically.  

Technically Yami and I are little more than blobs of energy supported by separate magical Items and endowed with the ability to control Shadow Magic.  Is it possible for two blobs of energy to produce a third, smaller, hyperactive blob of energy?  Oh holy fuck I got my boyfriend pregnant.

No.  No I didn't.  I'm being paranoid.  This is insane.  Why am I thinking this?!

Because things are going too perfectly at the moment and something just ***has***** to go wrong somewhere?  Or is it that I'm still drunk and my thought processes are doing this on purpose to scare me?**

Still, it's a possibility, isn't it?  We're not human in every sense of the word and we don't exist on a single plane of existence.  Many things are possible in this world and I've just realised that I'm trying to convince myself that this is true.  Ick-ick-no!

Babies = evil.  They're loud, annoying and smell funny.  They depend on you and I'm bad enough at looking after Ryou with a cold.  How would I handle a screaming baby?  I'd end up killing it…

And now that feeling of panic has just intensified.  I know it's not possible but there's an inkling of doubt and I don't know why I can't just *believe* that Yami is most certainly *not* pregnant.  He can't be.  I'd kill myself.

Or would I?  No-stoppit.  I am not even *considering* this.  I can't and I won't.  But I need to be sure.  I *have* to be sure before I go even more insane than I appear to be at the moment.

/I'll be back in a few minutes love.  Just thought of something I need to get/ I say in an uncomfortably higher-pitched voice than normal.

He gives me an odd look but nods slightly and returns to the various shirts.  I spend a few seconds remembering how to move and then make a sprint for the drug's counter.  

'Yami's not pregnant' is a mantra in my head as I stare blindly at the why-the-fuck-are-there-this-many-types-of- pregnancy-test kits, wondering why the Gods are being so cruel to me.  This is not fair.  It's not.

Damning my ignorance of modern medicine to Hell, I close my eyes and grab whatever my hand touches, stuffing the box into my jacket pocket and walking back to where I left Yami.  This kit feels unusually heavy and I think it's contaminated with something because I suddenly feel incredibly nauseous.

Finally reaching Yami, I wordlessly take the pile of shirts off of him, stick them back in a pile on the shelf and drag him by the elbow towards the toilets.  

/Bakura?  What's wrong?  What's happened?/

I don't think I could answer him straight even if I tried to so I just push him into the toilets, bolt the door behind me and lean against the wood as he watches me with deep concern etching his features.  

/Bakura.  You're really worrying me.  What's the matter?/

Swallowing heavily, I glance around to make sure that no-one is locked in here with us before answering.  I think I just confirmed my paranoia by the way.  

/I think you might be pregnant/

Yami stares at me levelly for ten whole seconds before he breaks down in laughter, actually having to wrap his arms about his midsection in an attempt to calm himself down as he shakes.  /That, is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.  Whatever gave you that idea?/

I frown at how he is taking this.  This is jolly-fucking-serious!  This is a baby and my sanity here! /You've put on weight and you haven't been well recently/

He sighs, scrubbing a hand through his bangs before he presses his palms together and purses his lips, obviously trying to find the words to dispel my fears, or admit to his.  Ha!  I'd love it if he were thinking the same thing as me; it wouldn't make me out to be insane if that were the case.

/Love, listen to me, please.  I don't know why I'm sick but I am most certainly not pregnant/

Glaring with renewed energy, I thrust the test-kit at him from out of my pocket.  /Make sure/

His eyes go impossibly wide.  /You're insane./

I know.

/I am *not* peeing on a stick!/ he mentally shouts indignantly as he skims over the instructions.  Ha!  See?!  He wouldn't be checking the instructions if there was absolutely no doubt of his non-pregnant state in his mind!  I'm not alone in my paranoia and insanity.  Good.  Now I won't have to kill myself.  But I need him to take the test to prove that all these fears are unwarranted.

/Just do it please?/ I never say 'please' so he knows I'm serious.  I pout a little and make my eyes bigger too.  Got him.  With a loud sigh, he rolls his eyes and moves into one of the cubicles, cursing me in Ancient Egyptian the entire time.  I can let that pass at the moment; I have bigger worries.

A few minutes later he emerges from the cubical with an unreadable expression.  What does that mean?!  What?!  /Well?!/ I prompt impatiently when he doesn't speak.

Holding out the white piece of plastic, he sends back /see for yourself/ and then crosses his arms in his usual confident pose.  Feeling like I'm being given a date and time for my execution, I take the plastic stick from him and stare at it.

Oh shit.

There's a blue line in the little window.

My legs go weak and my head feels strange, my arm with the hand holding the incriminating stick attached dropping to my side limply as I slide to the floor against the door.  Oh Ra.  Oh Fuck.  What are we going to do?  This is insane.  I'm going to wake up in a minute on a fishing boat and this will have all been some alcohol-induced dream with no pregnant Yami in real life.

Said Yami is kneeling in front of me now, taking my empty, clammy hand in his and holding it to his chin, pressing a kiss against my knuckles.  /I'm sorry Bakura.  I really didn't know that you wanted to be a father so much/

Huh?  Run that by me again.

/What?/

He frowns at me slightly before realisation hits and he grins, slapping the side of my head lightly with his hand before taking the evil stick off of me.  Holding it up, he points to the horrible blue line and stares intently into me eyes.  

"One blue line means it's worked you little idiot.  Two is a confirming result," he says slowly and firmly.

I lunge at him madly after a few seconds during which that sinks in, pressing almost desperately relieved kisses to his throat and mouth before just dragging him to the floor entirely.  These tiles are really cold but after that emotional roller-coaster I need an outlet.  The door is definitely locked and although surprised, Yami seems to be happy to indulge this need of mine.

/Thank you for being a guy/ I send, not realising I'd sent that across the bond until afterwards and feeling a bit of an idiot.

He gives me a funny look before nipping at the delicate underside of my wrist making me shiver.  /You're welcome.  And please tell me *before* you drag me into a toilet when you have these paranoid little thoughts again, okay?/

And share the insanity?  /Deal/

****

Umm.  Yeah.  Review me please.


	8. Recriminations

It was kinda fun answering reviews last time so I'm doing it again now.  I answer questions and respond to comments so send 'em!

Seraph Reaver: Coming up with what's wrong with Yami should be interesting, since it's not the baby thing. I have no idea what could be the matter unless it's like Bakura said, something beyond what they are aware of. The Puzzle seems to be the only thing that comes to mind, which is probably what everyone else is thinking. So, be mean and make us wait and throw us for loops or something. It's always fun to throw loops at readers *nods*  
  


Borath: Oh.  I intend to.  You're the first person who hasn't begged to be told what the heck is going on you know.  Nice one.  You write too.  If I hadn't already read a fic by you I would know from that paragraph of typing.

  
SR: Keeps em coming back for more. Ok, so you already have them coming back for more, but be a meanie as well. Mislead us, let us think we have something figured out and throw something at us we aren't expecting ;B  
  


B: Scroll down.

  
SR: By the way, I've got a friend who loves you work and is dying to see a Harry Potter fic from you.

B: Well, I started one and it's posted (as an abandoned one for anyone to pick up) but I'm not in that 'mode' (firmly entrenched in Yu-Gi-Oh) so don't expect any.  Nice to know I'm liked though!

B: (To Crystal Starr) Go for it!  Make Yami a female in your own fic and thanks for being polite enough to let me know instead of just doing it.  

Pachelbell: So, when are Yami and Bakura going to join the Mile High club? *wink wink, nudge nudge*

B: The what?!  I'm young and innocent (snorts) so a translation is needed there.  Excuse my ignorance and stupidity.

Kiyoshi-neko:: *sigh* well anywho my idea is that .......um..........hehe.....you could. make them have some sorta fight.......cause you know their relationship cant be this easy going the whole time........

B:I don't think it's easy going!  Thanks for the idea though.  I had already planned a fight but credit is due.  Been scratching around my brain when I'm not looking have you?

On with the fic!

Recriminations

Yami still isn't well and I'm really starting to get worried now.  Before it was a little niggle of anxiety wherein I knew that nothing was *really* wrong with him but now I'm thinking there is *something* and it's a pretty bad something at that.  He's a good few shades paler than usual all the time now and his strength is practically gone.  Medically he's fine and I spent three hours scanning through the magical conduits in the Puzzle with my Ring yesterday so the problem doesn't lie there.

It's really bugging me that I can't figure this out now.  

I decided that his ailment was magical so a trip to the Shadow Realm was required, pulling both of our essences there myself to save him the strain.  We've been wandering around this void now for a good few hours but time cannot exactly be judged in this place so I can't be sure.  Time is a concept but with the dimensional variations and sheer magic bouncing around here, trying to figure out how much time has passed will make your head explode.

"Do you sense anything?" Yami asks tiredly.  He doesn't seem as fatigued here as in the physical realm, the magic here supporting his essence and his strength saved from not having a real body to move.

I shake me head as I do another complete turn about myself.  I honestly have no idea what we're looking for here but I know that there will be a metaphysical manifestation of whatever is making Yami like this.  Yamis in general are tied to the Shadow Realm on many levels and if something is wrong in the body or mind of a yami then it will be represented here in some form.  We could be looking for anything; from a fountain of blood to a polka-dot rabbit.  

I hear a grunt of pain and I feel something tighten as I see Yami doubled over with his hand fisted in the material of his jacket.  Looking up at me with crimson slits for eyes, he looks off in front of him and points vaguely with his hand.  "Over there," he bites out between clenched teeth.

He'd reject any help I offer him so I leave him to deal with the pain on his own, knowing that if he approaches whatever I'm walking towards it'll only get worse for him.  

Checking over my shoulder rather obviously every few seconds, I nearly fall into the huge pit headfirst, stopping when I realise that my toes aren't on anything solid and leaning back instinctually.  I land rather spectacularly on my arse but it's better than falling through nothingness for all eternity.

Hmm.  A pit in what can just about be identified as the floor.  There's a damn good chance that this is the problem.  Something in the Shadow Realm is draining his strength directly from him perhaps?  Or this could be a symbol of something else.  I have no idea.  Damnit.  A rabbit I could figure out but a hole of nothingness *inside* nothingness is a brain-bruiser.

/There's a huge hole in the ground over here/ I send back through the bond, using the open link to check on how he's doing at the same time.  The pain seems to have receded meaning that he's retreated a few steps away from both the huge hole and me.  It really is a huge hole too; twelve odd meters in diameter, but measurements are like time here; you don't have a hope in hell of realistically estimating them.

/An energy-drainer?/

He just had my idea.  /I reckon so.  Do you want to leave now?  Now that I know where it is I can come back and look at it a bit more on my own/

/That sounds good/

Not bothering to walk back to him, I capture both of our spirits and snap us back to the physical world.  His stance is unsteady after we're both dumped back into our bodies and I have to grab his midsection to keep him upright.  He squeezes my forearms to show me that my concern is appreciated but unnecessary and steps back.  I let him but don't take my eyes off of him in case he's overestimating his strength again.

He did that yesterday.  After I was through examining every aspect of the Puzzle, which gave me one bitch of a headache and made him woozy, another stupid word there, I handed him a jug of water so that he could help himself to a drink.  He took the weight of the jug after assuring me that he wasn't feeling *that* weak and calling me a mother hen and ended up floored.  He was fine after a few minutes but it was scary seeing him like that.

/I'm going to sort out something for us to eat, all right?  I'll be back in a few minutes/

/Leave the pans alone.  I don't want to have to peel you off the oven today/

He scowls at me mildly before moving into the kitchen, leaving me on my own in the living room.  Exhaling heavily, I bury my hands in my hair and pull hard in a vain attempt to distract my mind from all the depressing thoughts that are trying to get to the surface.

I fail miserably.

That pit in the Shadow Realm was definitely linked to Yami; I could feel the ties between them when I nearly fell in and it wouldn't have had that drastic an affect on him if there weren't a relation.  I think we're on the right track in believing that it's draining his strength as that seems to be the core problem with him.  The question now is what do we do to fix it?  I can't exactly take a spade and fill it.

Damnit I feel useless.  We're supposed to be able to help each other and I can't do anything here.  He's getting worse and after looking into that hole I don't want to speculate on how *much* worse he *could* get.  

The doorbell rings and it mercifully distracts me from my musings, allowing me some respite as I move admittedly sluggishly to answer it.  Ryou?  Why the hell is he ringing the *bell*?  He lives here!  Uh oh.  He looks bad.  Worried.  Scared.  That's his 'I've done something that you're not going to like and are about to find out about' look.  I hate that look.

He looks so scared of me that it makes me cringe a little internally and I say nothing as I step aside to let him inside.  Normally that expression would annoy me but make me feel a swell of pride in my own abilities, but now that Yami's softening me up I feel rotten.

"Yami?" he begins hesitantly without looking at me.  I turn in a slow circle to face him from where he's darted around me into the living room.  He's now sat on the sofa and staring at the floor.  Soft brown eyes rise to meet mine as I stride over to sit on the coffee table directly in front of him, levelling my significantly harder gaze on him.

"What?"

"You told me to tell you when I, um…"

Oh.  I get it.  I don't let my expression change in the slightest as I cotton on; merely continue to watch him carefully.  About a year ago I practically ordered him to tell me when he started to have sex with anyone.  I had different reasons for that back then; Ryou is *my* Hikari which makes him *mine* and I didn't exactly like the idea of sharing what was mine back then.  I don't feel like that anymore but I still want him to tell me these things so I can make sure that he's all right and being safe.

What?!  If I don't do this then who else is going to?  His bloody father is off out of the country more times than he is *in* it so Ryou can't exactly talk to him, which leaves me.  I can tell by the look in his eyes that he'd rather be having this conversation with something that was about to gut him rather than me, but he's plucked up the courage to tell me so I'm pleased with him.  Coming to think of it, he probably thinks that *I'm* to gut him.

I can absently hear Yami pottering about in the kitchen but this is demanding my attention now.  For some reason I'm finding this very hard to deal with, but I'll be damned if I show that.  It's nothing sappy like 'my little Ryou is all grown up' or something stupidly judgemental along the lines of 'you're too young'.  He can do what the hell he likes.  It's…  By Ra I don't know.  

I've had him in a certain frame of mind for years and I was happy with him fitting into that little mould.  I've tried to make him stronger and although my methods weren't exactly pleasant, I've made him stand up for himself.  I did that.  I did that to him and made sure that the mould still fit.  Where does a mould come into this again?  Metaphor I think.  Bollocks to it I'll try to sort my head out before I start the fan-fucking-tastic task of questioning Ryou.

I find that I can't look at Ryou the same way now as I watch him.  He's squirming again, wondering what's going on in my head.  You don't want to know kid; you and your sanity are safer out of my head right now.  

I'm his yami.  It's my job to look after him.  I don't do it particularly well but I defend him from other people so I think I can be called a guardian of sorts.  Now, someone else is going to look after him instead of me and I'm not entirely sure what I think of that.  I'm a possessive bugger but I can't change that now.  I think I can deal with it given time.  Urgh.  I do not want details here.  I don't.  This is my hikari.  Ick.

I nod slightly to show that I know what he's talking about after I think that I have my mind in some sort of functioning order.  "Who's the lucky girl?"

A light blush comes up over his cheeks and his nose twitches as he looks down.  A guy then.  Interesting.  I'm unsettled that I didn't know this before but I have had other things on my mind recently so I think I can be excused.  I notice that I'm clenching my fists together under my chin when I follow his fearful gaze to them, surprised that I had done that unconsciously and loosening my grip a little so that my knuckles aren't white.  

A question and answer session is the only way that I'm going to be able to cope with this.

"When?"

"Last night."

And he came to me right away and told me.  Good; very obedient.

"Who?"

A pause.  That isn't good.  "You know him."

He's going to wish I didn't.  

Damnit!  I thought I was handling this!  I'm supposed to be fine with this; it isn't that big a deal.  So why am I feeling the strong urge to pummel something?  Apparently protective instincts are kicking in big time.

"Who?" I bite out, frowning as my voice sounds a bit like a growl.  Trying to soften my tone, or make it as soft as I can ever get my voice to be, I force some of the muscles in my face to relax.  "I won't do anything.  I just need to know who.  Tell me."

There's a long pause before he speaks in a strong voice, obviously having used the period of silence to gather up his courage.  "Yugi."

Well.  I feel like someone just hit me.  Mindless anger bubbles up before I can stop it and I have to stand and move away from Ryou for his sake.  Breathe in and breathe out.  Repeat.  Right.  I can deal with this.  

Glancing over my shoulder I see Ryou watching me anxiously still not having moved from the sofa and feel my stomach tighten.  I was wrong.  I can't deal with this.  I hope he knows why I can't because I sure as hell don't.  Damnit he's *mine* to look after!  No-one else's!  I protected him from the real world and made a point to prepare him for it for when I took away the buffer.  And he goes off and does something like this!

/Bakura?  Your end of the bond is on fire.  What's wrong?/

Deftly ignoring Yami, I take to walking stiffly back to face Ryou only this time I keep the coffee table between us and remain on my feet.  

Right.  This is okay.  Yugi is an okay kid and Yami's hikari so I can keep a close eye on him and make very sure that he doesn't hurt Ryou.  This is all right.  This is normal.  A part of growing up.  I will now open my mouth, state that I'm happy for him and then walk *away*.

Okay.  Here goes.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?!  Damnit!  You and him and the-damnit Ryou!"

Hmm.  Where in the heck did that come from?  I actually surprised myself more than I did Ryou just then.  

He stands now and stares up at me, his eyes narrowing slightly and I can tell I touched a nerve.  He's never looked at me like that before.  Ordinarily I'd be proud but now is not a good time for me to feel any emotions like that.  

"We care a lot about each other and he won't ever hurt me.  You don't need to worry about me anymore," he tells me.  Tells.  Not implores.  *Tells*.

I try again for the understanding and the happiness crap but my mouth gets there before my brain can make the words.

"But why did you have to sleep with him?!"

Urgh.  What a stupid question but my mind is scrambling and my emotions have gone doolally.  I am *not* dealing with this well at all.  I'm having the strange urge to laugh hysterically now.  I don't know if that's better or worse than the urge to beat something into a bloody pulp, watch it for a few minutes and then kill it.  Worse I think.  Yes.  Laughing for me is worse than getting my hands bloodied.

"*What* is your problem Yami?  I don't feel anything but happiness about this and I think that you're just trying to make things difficult."

You're way off the mark there, Ryou.  My thoughtless emotional side is making things difficult.  Not me.  "It's not that at all-"

"Then what?" he demands now, appearing an entirely different person to the shy, soft-spoken teen I knew a few minutes ago.  "How is this any different to you and Yami-Yugi?"

"Don't you *dare* start trying to compare yourself to us," I bite out dangerously.  I hate people intruding on our business and that's what this feels like.  "We're entirely different people Ryou and you have no idea of what is going on.  You couldn't.  You're gentle and beautiful.  I'm a killer and a thief.  For all *you* could know he's just another notch in my bedpost."

There's a long silence as he stares at me in shock and it takes me a few moments to figure out that he's not looking at me but *past*** me.  Oh bollocks.  Yami.**

Twisting slowly and praying that he didn't just hear that, I feel my throat constrict and my skin freeze as I see him standing against the counter through the door in the kitchen.  He isn't looking at me, his head bowed slightly as he rests his weight through his hands that are braced against the counter-top.  I don't see any anger.  It's worse; he looks…  Tired?  Defeated?  

Turning on his heel, he doesn't look at me at all as he walks out of the kitchen and out of my line of sight.  I hear the door shut quietly behind him as he leaves and then the most terrible feeling that I have ever experienced slams into me.

He closes the bond between us entirely.  

We shield from each other but we've never put up a solid barrier *against* each other.  Even when we aren't in each other's heads we can still feel each other; we can feel a presence.  But now I don't even have that.  A numbing coldness sweeps through me, barren and reflecting my guilt and pain around and back at me.  The intensity of it makes my knees go and I drop back onto the sofa opposite Ryou weakly.  

He can obviously sense my distress and almost moves around the table to offer me comfort but wisely stops as he picks up another emotion rapidly surging through me.  I haven't felt this angry in a while; I wasn't *this* angry when I was shouting at Ryou just now.  This is a dangerous kind of angry and I need to get away from my hikari before I turn on him.  I don't think I could restrain myself this worked up and I could seriously harm him.   Or worse.

This isn't his fault.  It's mine.  *I'm* the one that I want to beat now.  Shaking from the sheer force of it, I am dismayed to feel it starting to invade the emptiness that the loss of the bond has left me with.  I stand and walk blindly past Ryou, out through the main entrance to the house.  

I'm at a complete loss as to what to do.  Yami's hurting and I can't let him believe what I said too long or there will be no hope of repairing the damage done between us.  But I'm hurting just as badly, possibly worse considering, and I would likely do something stupid if I went after him now.  I need to calm down.  Gather my thoughts.  Get my sanity back and my temper under control.  

I can feel that Ryou is worried now; worried about what I'm going to do.  I'm worried about that too.  I know what I'm capable of when I'm this tightly coiled.  

Standing outside, I can feel the weight of the sodden air pressing against me, making it difficult to breathe.  I wish that it were raining.  Water is always soothing and watching a storm would probably calm me down.

Trembling, I look around at my surroundings and find my eyes lingering on the house.  A bitter taste in my mouth and a stinging behind my eyes, I walk around to the side of the house and climb up onto the protruding bit on the side, the place that Yami and I first acknowledged the bond's existence.

My hands clenched into fists I lean back against the wall and bring my knees up close to me body.  The anger is fading a little but it leaves harrowing coldness in its place and the conflicting emotions make me want to retch.  Clenching my hands into my hair, I press my forehead into my knees and take long, measured breaths.  

I don't notice that I'm crying until the dampness spreads through my trousers and the chill of the air touches it.  I don't care about that though; no-one can see or reach me up here so I'm free to look and be as pathetic as I bloody well need to be. 

The anger is just about gone now and all I'm left with is pain and misery.  What the hell am I going to do now?  Without the bond I can't find him.  I have to though.  I need him.  I have to fix this.  I fucked this up and I can't let it stay like this.

I *will* fix this.

****

Right.  This is officially the first part of this 'multi-chaptered-one-shot' that will *require* a next chapter.  Bear with me because the nature of this ending makes things rather difficult and I know that the next part is going to be a challenge.  Praise and advice are highly sought.  Please appreciate my efforts of writing this entire chapter inside of two days.  Thanks. 


	9. Release

Right, I haven't updated this in… forever so I wrote this chapter pretty much entirely in one sitting (about two minutes before posting actually) to make up for it.  There are many mistakes as I have not proof-read this so excuse them for now as I will repost it as soon as possible.  A heck of a lot darker in this chapter and humour is taking a back seat here.  I have an idea of where I'm taking this so don't worry that I'm abandoning this; I'm not and I won't.  Collage is just being an arse and making it difficult to write.

Warning: This chapter is very violent.  Not as bad as it could have been but still intense.  Details?  Well, I reassure you that Bakura is still as lethal as always.

Release

I have no idea how long I've been sat here now, staring blankly into space, because my mind drifted out of my skull at some point and this is the first time I've blinked in a while so it's only just come back.  It's darker now, the sun sitting a little way above the trees and the air is still heavy.

Knees stiff, I stand slowly and do a retake on my surroundings before dropping neatly from my bit of the house and landing on the grass.  It still hurts where the bond has been blocked off, thoughts and feelings that I have been used to sending surging against the barrier and burning me from the inside out.  I need to find Yami.  The anger is almost gone now; only the hatred I have for myself remaining.

I don't know what makes me head off in that direction but I start a quick jog towards the park.  The trees are whipping past me but I'm blind to them right now.  I can make out bright light and deep shadow; the rest of my world has blurred into grey.

I'm incapable of thought at the moment, my eyes staring off ahead of me blankly as I run, my mind scrambling in an attempt to come up with something that could mean *anything* to Yami right now.  Ra, he looked terrible this morning but after hearing *that*, it was as if I'd destroyed him.

Ryou starts scratching at my Soul Room and it takes me a while to acknowledge the niggling before I erect a barrier against it.  I can't have any distractions now.  There's too much at stake for me to bollocks this up.  Damnit!  Why did I have to say that?  How in the hell did that sentence even get formed in my head?  It's-I don't know anymore.

I didn't mean it.  I could never mean that.  I have no idea how it happened but Yami means more to me than I could ever have imagined.  Hmm.  A good place to start when I finally find him, I think.  I hope he's all right.  That hole in the Shadow Realm looked anything but reassuring and with the strength required to mentally clamp down on a bond as strong as ours…  I don't want to think of what could happen to him if I don't find him soon.

Running now, I take the winding path through the woods of the park that leads towards the lake, a place where Yami and I used to…  He might be there.  He'd better bloody be for my sake.

I slow down and start tracing the outlines of the trees around me, my eyes taking in every detail even if my mind wants nothing more than to sink into a numb and detached state.  The mind of a hunter; sharp, calculating.  Yami's weak at the moment and I can pick up on that.  That's why I was so prosperous in the past.

But something else is stalking him tonight.  I can feel it.  I niggling feeling in my stomach that makes my muscles tighten and my vision sharp.

I move around a large trunk, my boots cracking and breaking the dry leaves and making me twitch slightly at the sound, and the path ahead of me comes into view.  My heart constricts when I spot him, silhouetted against the streetlights ahead, his head low and his steps slow and methodical.

By Ra I can practically see the waves of pain and exhaustion pulsating around him.  Damnit why did I have to say that?!  I feel so guilty now that it physically hurts, but that isn't my immediate concern.  My *immediate* concern is the gutsy son-of-a-bitch who's *following* Yami who is too depressed to notice.  Another hunter.  I'm better though.  The fact that I'm still alive after the shit that I've done proves it.  But that bastard is going after what is *mine* and I intend to make him regret it.

I'm not thinking about Yami as I start to run at him, my strides long and my footsteps silent.  Reaching my arm up, I snatch my hand around and over the guy's mouth, turning my momentum to drag both him and myself into the trees at the side of the path.  This piece of filth stalked in the darkness so in the darkness death shall stalk him.

I thought that that anger was gone, but apparently it was just on hold, willed away temporarily whilst I searched for Yami and exploding now in a flurry of fists.  The sod doesn't have a chance as I rain blows on his face relentlessly, oddly unsatisfied with the hard, packing sounds of flesh hitting flesh.  A snarl pulls at my mouth and my eyes are slits but still I continue.

It's an outlet and for once it's productive.  This bastard *dared* to even *consider* hurting *my* Yami.  He deserves everything that I give him.

Swelling now, the flesh under my fists softening, a balance being established between the softness of my target and the stinging in my knuckles.  It's odd how the universe works.  I've got his throat in one hand and I backhand him hard with a clenched fist, snapping his head violently in the opposite direction to which I had formerly been sending it.  Blood spatters his bottom lip and I'm tempted to rip the dark flesh away to reveal more of that precious fluid.

His eyes roll and his meek struggles cease entirely but I am nowhere near done.  I'm not even running out of steam.  He has to pay.  He *will* pay.  I saw the stalk in his step and the way he was staring at my love, the twitching in his fingers as he imagined getting his hands on that lithe body.  Never again though.  I promised Yami never again and I keep my promises to him.  I'll *make sure* that this animal can never harm him.  Make him incapable of movement at all to be sure.  

I've been in many fights and I know exactly what each blow I deliver in varying strength does to the body.  The kick I send into him now obliterates his right kidney, the second his liver and now he's bleeding internally.  Still not satisfied though.  He needs more.  More punishment.  My vision is hazy and my thought processes are becoming unstable to say the least.  Funny how you can make these little judgements about yourself when you're beating a human into a new shape.

I drop the body to the ground and send the heel of my boot into the chest, my mouth twitching when I hear about three bones part beneath my will.  Another few impacts and I've demolished his entire rib cage.  I'm running out of steam now.  My hands are bloody and sweat is making my hair cling uncomfortably.  Jacket is chafing and...  Fuck.  Yami's still out there.

There's still a sliver of life left in it though and that's a sliver too much in my mind.  Returning my hand to his throat, I squeeze hard, curling my fingers with precision that I have learned only through time and experience.  Jerking my hand back, I feel the flesh in my palm come away with me and step back knowingly to avoid getting dirtied.  Giving the piece that I have taken an idle glance, I discard it before clenching my fists at my sides and tilting my head back.

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Calm..  It's done.  No more worries here.  Yami needs attention now.  This… thing can't harm him now.

Leaving it in a heap at the bases of the trees, I turn on my heel and my heart nearly explodes when I practically step on Yami.  He's close enough to me to be under my boots and his eyes are dark.  Looking behind me, he glances the remains over before his eyes meet mine again and he sighs softly, his eyes closing tightly.

I don't know what to say to him.  I'm afraid of what he thinks of me at the moment.  It is in my nature to protect what is mine in a homicidally aggressive manner and he definitely needed protecting right then.  But after what he heard and what he just saw…  

"I didn't mean it Yami," I state softly, watching his pale features intently and kneading the tips of my fingers into my palms.  The skin there is sticky, clingy and the surface is quickly drying to become a confining second skin.  I want to wash.  Cleanse my body and my spirit.  Fuck naff-poetry.  It applies.

"Then why did you say it?" he whispers back.  By Ra I wish the bond were open.  He can't seriously believe what I said.  I didn't say that exact sentence any louder than the rest of my rant so, in context, it's meaning was entirely different.  

But Yami's been screwed over in the past, the residual feelings still there even if the memories aren't.  He's insecure.  Damn it I'm too cold-hearted to deal with this.  I can't be sensitive like he needs me to be right now.  I'll just take this as it comes.  Let fate sort out the rest.

"I was making a point to Ryou.  I…  I was angry.  I was angry just now," I bite out, my shoulders tightening as the memory returns vivid and bright.  I was ready to kill it the second I sensed it.  

Yami finally opens his eyes but they're dull and lifeless.  I don't know what's wrong with him but right now he looks like he's dying.  Another glance over my shoulder as his body remains still but his eyes twitch, his face impassive and muscles lax.  

"He was going to hurt me."  An acknowledgement.  Not a question.  He's not an idiot.  He's not vein by any means but he's still aware of his appearance.  He's different and that is a dangerous thing in this world.  It was back in Egypt.  I suffered more than once because of my unique hair.  He suffers because of his eyes.

I do no more than nod to confirm that and he nods back to acknowledge my response.  "Thank you."

"I would never let anyone hurt you," I reply with steel in my tone.  *I* may have hurt him, something that I am going to damn-well fix in a minute, but no-one is ever going to lay a threatening finger on him ever.  I'll make sure that they don't even get close.

"I know."

There's a long silence as we both avoid each others gaze, my mind scrambling through everything that I could say to him right now and that mordant little voice at the back of my head whispering everything negative thing that Yami could say in response to my heart-felt pleas.  My pride is meaningless right now.  This is too important.  *He's* too important to me.

"I'm sorry that I did this to you."

There.  I did it.  That ranked up high on my 'best places to start' list that I compiled during the last three milliseconds.  Now I just hold my breath and see how he responds to it.

"I am too."

Not quite the response I wanted there.  Shit.

I wrenched out of the very beginnings of what promises to be a trip into despair when he takes my right hand gently.  His own hand is trembling as he lifts mine, bringing it to him and tracing the dried blood in the creases of my palm with his index finger.  "You should clean that."

Hmm.  How in the heck do I react to that?  Nodding mutely, I watch him with trepidation whilst he stands frozen, seemingly to be internally debating before coming to a decision.  He looks up at me after an eternity and I see the corners of his eyes twitch.

The bond reopens as a miniscule crack at first before the force of everything at either end wrenches it wider and the bond is full again.  All I can describe it as is bright and hot.  My head dips and I repress a groan as that cold, barren place within me is filled again.  I can feel his sorrow there, his pain and his exhaustion, but I can feel his understanding and forgiveness too.  And he still loves me.  Well, the feeling is more than reciprocated.

I take a few moments to absorb all of the sensations and emotions that I'm getting and I sense that he's doing the same.  Opening my eyes feeling whole and warm, my blood turns to ice as I see him sway slightly where he stands.  

His eyes are unfocussed and his fingers are splayed, unconsciously looking for a support before his strength evaporates and leaves him crumpled.  I catch him when it does, my arms looping beneath his and I lower us both to the ground shakily.  I'm scared now.  Very.  More scared than I've been in a while.  He's gone from pale to a colour that's hovering between grey and white.  Eyes still open, I can feel through the bond that he' struggling to even do that.

/Love?  Tell me what to do?  What's happening?/

Huh.  I even sound scared in my *mind*.

/Can't breath.  Tight.  Hurts./

It takes me a few moments to figure out what he means in those few, disjointed words but when it clicks I shift around to that he's laid across my lap before I start undoing the buttons on his shirt.  No buckles which is good because he needs to get a bit more freedom around his ribs.  He struggling to breath.  I think his body has become hyper-sensitive all of sudden and his skin is registering the light material of his shirt as a restraint on his breathing.  I don't know.  His mind is scrambled at the moment.  In the back of my mind I still revel in the feeling that I can *feel* his mind but that is overshadowed by my concern and outright terror.

His body jerks suddenly and he starts coughing, his body instinctively twisting to face the side as he does so and I aid the movement as he obviously doesn't have the strength to do it.  The corpse behind us is starting to attract wildlife and I want to move Yami away from here, move him to somewhere warm and safe where I can take care of him, but I dare not speak aloud now let alone move him.

The coughs are hard, wracking his frame violently and I instinctively start rubbing his back methodically with one hand, the other placed at his shoulder to steady him.  They stop after a few minutes as he just lays there gasping until I shift him into a sitting position.  Bringing my hand to his face to rub at his cheek, reassure him that I'm here because I can feel that he's scared that he's alone right now, I feel something damp on my fingers.

Pulling my hands back I frown at the fresh blood on my fingers, mingling with the old and standing out both in colour and importance.  Not saying anything I just put an arm loosely across his chest and straddle his body with my legs, allowing him to rest his weight against my chest.  After a few seconds with my face in his hair, I 'hear' static along the bond and can tell without looking that he's passed out.  

I don't want to risk moving him yet so I plan to stay with him for a bit until I can feel that it's safe to do so.  Then I'm going back into the Shadow Realm and finding out what the fuck is doing this to him.  He's getting worse, bleeding inside now.

I think this is killing him but I'll be cold and stiff before I let it.  I protect what is mine.  Nothing is going to happen to him.  This is as bad as it's going to get because there is no way in Hell I am going to let it get worse.  It can't get worse.  I don't understand how it could.  

I'm scared, sat with a sick lover and a cooling corpse and without a source of hope or comfort to turn to.  But I have the bond now.

The thought occurs to me as if a new piece of vital information and my mind turns it over rapidly before the knot in my stomach loosens just a little.  I'll tie him to me.  My life to his.  My strength to his.  If only for a little while.  I don't know how to do this but I feel I *can*.  It will only last a day or so I think, but it'll give me time to figure this all out.

Closing my eyes and immersing myself in his scent, I concentrate on the bond and give it shape in my mind.  It's a representation but it's what I need right now.  It burns to 'touch' but I manipulate, make it coil about itself, tighten and strengthen at the ends.  Magic flitters into the gaps and holds it in shape and as I release my hold with a physical gasp I can already see the sparkles of light start to blink out.  A day I think.  A day of certainty before he's on his own and I know that I won't be able to tie us together for a while after this.

My head pounding I resign to sitting still and pondering what to do next.  First I need to get him into a bed and get some food into him, get some of his strength back.  Then I will go into the Shadow Realm alone and stay there as long as I can to sort this out.  Hell, I'll enlist the help of a monster if I have to.

His breath hitches a little and I freeze, listening intently for the next and relaxing when I hear him inhale smoothly, air working around the blood in his throat and mouth.  By Ra what did I do to deserve this?  He's precious to me and something is trying to wrench him out of my grasp.

Let them try.  I will stop this.  I will fix this.

****

Weak ending, I know.  It will be altered a little when I repost this in a better, edited version but I need a bit of feedback now please.  Review and show some appreciation for my effort.


	10. Intruders

Intruders

It took a long time to get Yami back to my house, longer than it should have anyway.  My strides were long yet slow to jar him as little as possible as I carried him, knowing that a sudden jolt in this state could very well do a lot of damage.  His mind was drifting constantly between consciousness and unconsciousness the entire trip, odd feelings and stray thoughts drifting to me through the bond before returning to the former static.

In the warmth and comfort of our shared bed now, I had placed him on his side to ensure that if he did have a relapse of that coughing fit he wouldn't choke on his own blood.  He looks vulnerable like this and I hate seeing that in him.  

I don't mind looking after him, on the contrary I quite enjoy focussing on a single task and if it's ensuring his well-being then all the better.  He's just usually so strong and vibrant.  What's in our bed now is fast becoming a shell and I want to get Yami back to normal so I can yell at him for worrying me so much.  

After managing to get him to swallow a miserable amount of water, I steeled myself for the task of sorting this all out.  The Shadow Realm is not the nicest place to spend exceptionally long periods of time in and I can tell that I'm going to be in there a while today.  

I called Ryou through the Ring a little while ago and told him to come over with Yugi to keep an eye on Yami for me whilst I'm 'gone', so that's one less thing to worry about.  If something happens I'll be back in the Physical world in a flash, but it should be all right as we're still connected.  It's weaker now but I am lending him some strength to work from.

Sensing Ryou coming up the stairs towards the bedroom, I check to make sure that everything that might be needed is in the room.  A blanket, water, towels, yes, looks fine.  I hope none of it is required but better to be prepared.

I'm starting to procrastinate, I can tell. I don't want to leave Yami in anyone's care but my own, but I have to if I'm going to help him effectively.  Taking a deep breath as I run my hand through his gold bangs a final time, I gather my magic and pull myself from this world before reassembling myself in the Shadow Realm.

I'm instantly greeted by a feeling of intense nausea and I know it's from having tied our essences to each other.  Bringing a hand up to my head and trying to not sway on my feet too much, I wait for it to pass before taking in my surroundings.

Well, diddly's changed since I was last here so that's a relief.  Same dark void of power, same bloody hole draining my lover's life.  I'm really happy to be here, honest.  

Setting my jaw, I walk towards the pit, circling its perimeter and considering every nuance and every fluctuation of magic I can sense swirling through it.  Huh.  Didn't notice that before and I really wish I had.  This isn't a hole; it's a friggin *tunnel*.  The magic going in far outweighs the whispers of energy leaking back out but it's definitely two-way.

A start I suppose.  At least I know that for my last straw I can simply jump into this thing and see where I end up.  Probably suicidal to do that so… Yeah.  Looking around is better for now.

Right.  It's two-way.  What's coming back then?  A poisoning agent?  A spell?  Damnit this is hard.  My head is making this already undefined world dip and spin and I really think that I need help.  Actually I knew that I was going to need help in here right off the bat; I've just *admitted* to myself that I need help right now.

I can invoke the help of a monster here and maintaining the extra presence wouldn't be too much of a drain as long as I got the required help quite quickly.  Flittering through my mental list I smirk to myself at my genius before closing my eyes and gathering the required magic.

Sensing the creature materialise directly before me, I can feel a 'weight' appear that is manageable at the moment.  In a bit I'll have to send it back before the 'weight' threatens to crush me, but at the moment it's fine.  Opening my eyes, I grin as the presence before me confirms my success.  The Dark Magician, tall, powerful and at my call.

Straightening slightly under his cool gaze and towering form, I tip my head towards the newly-named-tunnel and start walking towards it.  I know he's following me.  He has to; I summoned him.  I don't look back at him and barely acknowledge his appearance at my side as I stand at the precipice.

"I want to know what this is.  It leads somewhere, binding the Pharaoh to something.  Help me find out what," I instruct, speaking loudly and clearly so as to ensure that the Magician gets it. He's one of the more intelligent monsters here but I can't afford for anything to go wrong.  Not with Yami at stake.

The enigmatic monster smiles at me *very* unreassuringly before he lifts his staff up from the ground, holding it in his slender hands as he regards me somewhat suspiciously.  I have about enough time to squeak in indignant surprise before he clips the backs of my knees with the end of it and sends me *into* the *bloody* pit!

My fall is short-lived and I land rather painfully on my arse in some… room?  This is a Soul Room!  I don't recognize this Soul Room; it doesn't feel like either Yami or Yugi, and it doesn't seem suited to either of them.  It's, well, *green*.  Not bottle green or anything remotely tasteful but fluorescent and painful on to my eyes.

This room is cavernous with smooth walls coloured in the lucid shade and harsh lighting emanating from what appears to be the entire ceiling.  The floor is, um, *springy*.  What the fu-shit there's someone in here!  

I can safely say that the most disturbing thing is the room is the creature sat in the corner.  Perking up as I stare at it dumbfounded, it turns out to be a sort-of 'he' and scuttles towards me excitedly.

"Another spirit!  Funny one too; White hair, bright eyes, funny countenance, confused expression, yes you are a funny one, aren't you?" he bubbles rapidly from the vicinity of my knees where he squats at me feet.  

His hair is, um, 'energetic' and I don't think it would be able to stay in *that* shape in the real world.  It doesn't seem to be gelled or anything but defies gravity in peaks and horns.  Oh, and it's electric blue in colour.  Eyes the same colour as this putrid room and skin so pale that it's almost translucent confirm my suspicions that this creature is a complete freak.

His lips lashing out sideways in a grin before shrinking back, he stands straight and walks away from me.  His head is dipped as he regards me with more insanity than I've ever seen in a person before, including Malik.  His clothes consist of loose black trousers and a tight black shirt that has silver rivulets woven into it, the patterns winding down his thin arms.  His delicate hands clasp together beneath his jaw as his elbows tuck in and he stares at me excitedly.

Okay, this guy is *seriously* creepy.  What's he doing here and how the Hell is he taking strength from Yami?

I take a few seconds to blink at him with a frown before getting straight to the point.  If he was saner and freaked me out less I'd just hit him but I have no idea what I'm dealing with so a more roundabout approach is required I believe.  "Who the heck are you?"

He sighs and his back arches backwards as he smiles in seeming bliss.  "So long since I have heard another voice and the first words uttered question *me*?!  I am Zel.  *You're* snowy hair, or snow-drop.  Yes, snow *is* spattered on your head!  Snow-drop!"  

He starts laughing.  At me.  It's an annoying laugh and I want to kill him because of it.

"What are you doing here?  And what the Hell are you doing to Yami?" I demand now.  I want him *out* of here, preferably leaving his colourful head behind in my possession. I wonder if his blood is as insane a colour as his hair and eyes.

He scowls at me and I watch with mild interest as his hair changes colour, a dirty red bleeding up from the tips and engulfing the blue, reaching the tips in seconds and at about the same time as his eyes turn completely black.  Heh.  He looks angry and stoned.  A bit more threatening now though still.  I must admit my curiosity is getting the better of me now.

"The Pharaoh wasn't the only spirit locked in here," Zel replies darkly, his dark eyes narrowing at me menacingly.  Oh Ra.  I'm so scared.  Please, someone protect me.  For fuck's sake this guy's pathetic.

Wanting to make a point of this and, more importantly, wanting to get Yami well again, I approach him in three strides and put a hand round his throat.  Now, all I have to do it sque-whoa!

Blinking from where I now sit crumpled against the base of the opposite wall, I rub at my chest absently to alleviate the stinging sensation the burst of magic left me with.  So, there's more to Zel than meets the eye.  Interesting.  If he wasn't killing my lover I might have come to like him.  That is if he didn't irritate me so much; then I'd just dump him on Malik and watch the fireworks.

"Naughty Snow-drop," Zel hisses at me, his hair changing color yet again until it's entirely black.  His eyes are still that violent shade of green though.  It's a neat trick being able to change his hair like that.  Maybe I'll rip his head off and see how it works from the inside after this is all over.

But at the moment I'm pretty pissed off.  Stupid freak is inside *my* Yami and now he's throwing me around a Soul Room that shouldn't even exist.  If I could turn him inside-out with just the power of my mind, that's what I'd be doing right now.

"Get the fuck out of my boyfriend you disfigured excuse for a creature," I snarl out before kipping-up onto my feet and thrusting my hands at him.  Magic swirls around my forearms at my command and is expulsed from my body in one great burst.

Fuck but it hurts to do that.  Stupid Dark Magician is still summoned so there's a continuous drain on my powers.  Still, I managed to knock the little bastard off his feet.

Not letting this opportunity slip by, I lunge at him and grab his wrists just as he's about to raise his hands against me and return the blow.  My knee in his sternum and the other bracing me on the ground, I'm in a pretty good position to hold him down despite his attempts to escape.

"I was here first," he half-pouts-half-curses, eyes narrowed into splits as he stares at me.  His hair is bleeding from black back to insane-green again.  What is with that?!

"Yeah, and I'll be here last."  

He's at my mercy now and as much as I want to get rid of him right now, my magical resources are still recovering from the drain I just pulled to hit him so I have to wait for a few minutes before trying.  Still, I can ask a few questions to learn enough to ensure that this sort of thing never ever happens again.

"Just how in the Seven Hells did you get in here?"

He giggles.  A really feminine giggle too; light and dainty as his eyes roll and his cheeks dimple in another grin.  What.  A.  *Nutcase*.  

"I've been inside the Pharaoh for some time, Snow-drop.  I wanted to be back inside him when I got pulled inside him forever.  It tickled and burned."  His tone had started off light but that last part was hissed as he leaned in close to my face, eyes going from wide and bright to narrow and drunken.

I am seriously not liking this.  I've got a bad feeling in my gut and only part of me wants to know what it is.  Wrenching his body up against me, I shove his forearm beneath my right knee and lean my weight onto it before putting a hand around his throat.  Something feels very wrong here and I don't-damn it this is frustrating.  Yami's dying and my magic still hasn't amounted enough to expel this creature from existence in general.

"What do you mean?" I bite out, my nose twitching as I sneer down at him.  Usually my enemies are cowering, begging messes in this position with me.  But Zel's just led there, entirely at ease aside from his multiple-personality disorder.  Disturbing.

He laughs again, another giddy noise that I makes me want to rip out his throat to ensure that he can't do it ever again.  Leaning up as much as my restraining grip on him will allow, his chest brushes against me and he brings his face as close to my ear as I will allow.  "I was his first."

It takes a few seconds for that to sink in and when it does…  By Ra I'm going to fucking rip him open and show him his still-beating heart.  This bastard…  Yami...

Making a noise that can only be described as a roar, I bring both my hands around his neck and slam his head back against the lucid-wall over and over.  He laughs the entire time, the noise punctuated only when his skull connects with the surprisingly hard surface.  I can't kill him this way here, I know.  But I want him to suffer.

Stopping when I feel him trying to get a boot into my stomach, I hold still against him and settle for digging my nails into his flesh.  My magic is *so* *close* to being enough now, enough to rip him apart, filthy molecule by filthy molecule.  He deserves everything I give him.  Damn I wish so much that we were both in the Physical world right now.  Yami thought that what I did to his stalker was harsh.  He wouldn't want to know what I'd do to this piece of shit.

"I came back for him, the night the Games of Darkness were sealed away.  I got pulled in and lost, drowning in his essence.  You drown in him too, don't you Snow-drop?  I fine creature; a beautiful creature that writhes when bleeding and howls when touched.  Hidden away in my little corner, all weak and small and alone.  But I got stronger.  Pharaoh off out in the world with Snow-drop left Zel to grow; get stronger and bigger," he rambles senselessly.  I close to exploding now; as it is my temper's sizzling.

Closing my eyes against the disgusting things he's saying, against the secrets that I wanted to help heal the damage from but never really wanted to know.  But I can still punish him.  He hurt my Yami badly and it still haunts him.  This thing cannot be permitted to continue to exist and *certainly* not inside my lover.

My magic reaches the barrier that it needed to and I smile at the returned warmth I feel flooding my veins.  Zel senses it too and looks up at me with big eyes, the smile drooping and his face falling passive.  His hair's changing again, becoming black with red tips and a gold fringe.  Trying to pull at my heartstrings to save his miserable hide.  Not that I have a heart he can pull at.  

He cottons on too late that that isn't going to work and I override his own surge of power as mine laces down beneath my skin again, burning against his.  My head feels like it's going to explode; completely destroying an entity with your own power is both difficult and strenuous even at the best of times.  With the Dark Magician pulling at me and Yami's soul tied to mine even though the connection is weak, I have very little strength left to offer.  

It's enough though.

It screams as I shred it, my magic burning and searing it from the inside and out as I destroy it.  It takes a few seconds for nothing but a slither of light and mist to be left behind and I'm left kneeling with my hands around nothing as the last of my powers dissipate.  Then my strength gives out completely and I collapse nose-first onto the floor.  

Hmm.  Soul Room is breaking down as a result of the murder and the instability could take me with it.  And it's stinging the skin on my face and hands as I lie here.  I need to move.  Need to get to Yami and tell him that it's all alright.  I destroyed his old demons and now he's not going to die.  He'll be alright.  But I'm so tired.  Darkness is nibbling at the edges of my vision and my skin aches as do my bones.  Bloody hell exorcism is hard work.

Just as the 'floor' is about to completely loose all stability, a pair of strong hands appear around my waist and I feel myself being hefted up before everything goes dark.  No.  I haven't lost consciousness; I'm just going back to the bog-standard bit of the Shadow Realm with my new friend here.

I would squirm around and take a look at my, urgh, dare I say it?  No.  I'll never live it down.  'Savior' doesn't apply to whatever is saving my arse.  The only savior I have in this life is Yami; he saved my soul.  Hmm.  Thinking about it with the parts of my mind that are still functioning I'm going to bet that it's the Dark Magician.  I knew it was a good idea to summon him and have him drain my strength.  Never doubted for one-damn-second.

Hah!  I have enough strength to move my head!  Rolling it sideways I find that I now have a really good view up Yami's favorite card's nose.  Great.  I was right then.  Today I've killed the bastard that was stalking Yami, wiped all evidence of the bastard who hurt Yami in the worst way possible from the face of time itself, ensured that Yami's going to get better now and was right.  A good day I think.

"Thank you for ensuring my Master's well-being," The Dark Magician murmurs smoothly, dipping his head down to stare at me.  I feel something warm on my lower lip and don't need to check to know that it's blood.  My head is going to feel bad in the morning.  I just know it.

I blink up at the monster as a means of response and he smiles thinly in understanding.  Yami means as much to me as he does to him.  Just in different ways I suppose.  Whoa-room spin.  Didn't know the Shadow Realm could do that.  Cool.  

I dimly feel the Magician gathering a field of energy around us before I'm lifted from his arms and deposited lightly on a carpeted floor.  I take a brief glance around and release a breath when I recognize that I'm back in the room I left Yami in.

Ryou shouts something unintelligible to Yugi who isn't around, leaning over me and filling my vision with huge brown eyes.  I think I'm going to pass out now.  Yeah, I was right.

****

Oh God.  The quality of my writing has just *disintegrated* over the last few days so I sincerely apologize for the crapness of this chapter.  I have *no* idea when the next chapter will be up so bear with me.  Reviews are good.


	11. Cream

Chapter 10 left off very unsatisfactory so I threw this together.  Read, review and enjoy!  I hope the quality in writing hasn't declined too much due to brain-gone-mushy-due-to-term-of-collage.

Cuddles and Cream

Yami and I weren't exactly up to moving the rest of the day, or the night even, so Ryou and Yugi hefted me up onto the bed with Yami at some point and I woke up with my cheek against his chest engulfed in blankets the next morning.

He was watching me silently as I glanced around myself before smirking up at him in a way that just screamed '*ha*!'.  He looked better already although it was going to take some time for his strength to return to what it was.  I wasn't exactly feeling peachy either, my head on the verge of exploding an' all.

So we've been bed-ridden for over 24 hours now, which means that we are both bored.  Very bored.  So bored that we'd happily indulge a conversation about the mating habits of termites with the dorkiest person on this planet just for something to do.  Usually when we're this bored we, well, do anything other than what we're doing in bed right now.  

Heck, when I'm on my own and this bored I go out and fetch a few rose-stems, stick them under the grill and watch the greenfly pop.  Heh.  'Pop!'.  Heheh.

Ryou was a good little boy and chucked me my playing cards before he left for school at my insistence, Yugi accompanying him at Yami's.  It's been insane.  For the last 24 hours they have barely left our sides, pestering us if we need anything and such.  I must have looked pretty rough for Yugi to bother me too; Yami looked like he needed his care more.

In theory it would have been nice to be waited on hand and foot, but with my head pounding, my stomach twisting and every nerve in my body screaming abuse, Ryou's consistently nagging voice was not something that I wanted to hear.  

Yami obviously wasn't in the mood to deal with Yugi's oozing concern either, or a homicide between me and Ryou, so he supported me in getting them both to bugger off out to school.

So we're bored.  We've played cards for three hours straight and, of course, Yami has been kicking my arse in a non-stop winning streak.  So, fed up with pontoon, canasta and other such frivolous activities, I suggested making the game more creative and so a bit more interesting.

Duel Monsters was suggested, of course, before Yugi left but Yami gets a bit too, well, 'excited' when playing that game so standard cards was more appropriate given both our physical states.

I think I'm winning this time.  Not too sure.  Even pale and tired Yami can pull off a good poker face.  But I can too.  I think.  Bloody hope so with the pile of paper on the blanket on our laps.

My turn.  Hmm.  Good hand.  Plenty to bet.  Heck, why not?

Nodding slowly, I glance down at what he had put out because I hadn't really been paying attention when he spoke it aloud.  A side effect of destroying a spirit is that your mind turns to mush every now and then for the next couple of days.  I've got a powerful mind-I'm not bragging; I do- so I am handling it pretty well.  Hence me being able to have coherent thought.  Anyway.

"I shall see your week's washing up," I announce, sifting through the scraps of paper with household tasks scrawled on them in the little dip in the blanket between my thighs.  "And raise you two trips to the launderette, one Chinese burn and one cleaning *and* disinfecting around the back… of the toilet." 

Tossing the three scraps into the growing pile, I watch as Yami purses his lips and frowns slightly.  "That's completely cleaned me out," he mumbles with a shake of his head, casually tossing the rest of his paper-scraps onto the pile and running the finger from that hand over the front of his fanned playing cards thoughtfully.  

His eyes snap up to meet me and I can see the challenge in them.  "What have you got?"

I drop my hand into my lap so he can see and he makes a noise that is partway between a snort and a laugh.  "Three pair," I announce firmly.

"'Three pair?  You're only allowed five cards," he counters smoothly, his tone not altering in the slightest. 

I shrug slightly showing that I don't really give a damn about what I am and am not allowed to do.  Like I've ever listened to the rules.  "I'm a spirit.  Special privileges.  I get an extra card."

"Then I should too," he replies with a firm glare although the smile on his lips gives it all away.  Lazy sod isn't even trying.

"Too late," I say coolly.  "Cards are down; no more draws.  What've you got?"

Without taking his eyes off of me, he turns his hand around so that the cards face me, announcing his hand as the pictures come into view.  "Five Kings."

Oh.  That's good.  No I mean that's *really* good.  Sly bastard. Well, I am under the weather so I'm not quite at my best.  This is a one-off.  I can still cheat better than him any other day when my brain isn't semi-liquid.

"Nice one."

He tips his head to my in quiet acknowledgement of the compliment before sifting through the piles of papers, checking to see what he's one.  Uh oh.  I recognize that slip of paper, scrawled rather ineloquently in my handwriting.  By Ra my head is screwed up.  I've alternated between Japanese and Ancient Egyptian in the *same* *word*.

Yami quirks a brow and grins slightly.  "Ah, a 'bite'n'pull'.  I'll think I'll have that now."  Then he stares at me expectantly looking tiredly smug as he waits for me to comply.

Damnit but I gave my word.  I feel him open up the bond a little more to pick up on physical sensation to make sure I do this properly as I bring both hands up to my mouth.  Putting my teeth over the nails of my smallest fingers, I bite down with a fair amount of pressure and scowl at him.  I can quietly hear Yami count down the required thirty seconds in his own mind.

When the time is up, I remove my fingers and with a resigned sigh, curl and lock them in each other before counting to three and pulling hard.  Ow!  Damnit-buggery-fuckit!  Stupid…  Damn that hurts a lot more than you'd think it would.

Opening my eyes from where I'd winced them shut, I expect to see Yami sitting back and enjoying my torment but instead he looks, well, thoughtful.  Not thoughtful in the nice way that precedes a thoughtful comment but thoughtful in the bad way that makes me cringe slightly in anticipation.

"Bakura?" he begins softly.

I swallow.  "Yeah?"  Okay, that sounded too casual.  Oh well.

"What exactly was wrong with me?  You said that you fixed *it* but it's been over a day now and you still haven't told me."  

He looks less pissed off and more upset that I haven't disclosed that bit of information with him, which is understandable as it nearly killed him.  If our positions were reversed I'd go through Hell and high water to know what beat me down so effectively.

"You're strength was being drained directly from your spirit.  It would have erased you from existence entirely if it'd been left for another day.  I dealt with it though so you don't have to worry about it anymore," I reply flatly.  There's no way that I'm ever going to tell him about Zel.  If that memory returns, and I pray to anyone who might be listening that it never does, I will say then but otherwise that knowledge dies with me.

Yami frowns at me, his eyes darkening as he tells me physically how unsatisfied he is with my answer.  But he has a tight rein on his anger.  He knows me well by now.  He won't push me.

"You'll never tell me what 'it' was, will you?" he states rather than asks, his tone still firm and holding an underlining commanding tone.  It's easy to tell that he was once the Pharaoh.

"Nope.  Never.  There's no need for you to know."  And I think that it'll fuck you up too badly to know that the monstrosity that attacked you existed with you for thousands of years, skulking in the darkest recesses of the Shadow Realm and touching your spirit every single day.  

I have the strange urge to scrub Yami now.  I don't consider him to be dirty; heck I'd love him if he had a six-inch coating of oil over his skin.  No, that creature touched him and he's tainted by it.  I want those invisible marks gone.  I want him pure, as he deserves to be and mine as I want and need him.  I think I'll get him into the bath when we both have the strength to move.

The door slams shut from downstairs and I roll my eyes as I feel a concerned whisper in my mind from my twerp.  From the glazed look in Yami's eyes and the tremble in his aura I can see that he is indulging his Hikari more than I will mine. 

Hearing footfalls on the steps, I shift around so that I am curled up next to and slightly against Yami rather than sitting at an angle to him, pillowing my head against him and wrapping my fingers around his slender wrist.  The door opens as I finally settle and I glare slightly as both of the Hikari's faces crinkle slightly and I hear the words 'cute' and 'aw' flitter in the distance.  I sense a familiar feeling from Yugi through Yami but I don't so much as flinch.  

I'm comfortable like this and I don't give a damn how much like a Labrador puppy I look now.  Some time ago I would never be so open about affection, or open about anything other than animosity in general actually.  But now I'm happy and I want people to know that I'm happy.

Ra I've turned into a sap.  It's official.  Bakura, formerly the most notorious Tomb Raider of Ancient Egypt and holder of the Millennium Ring (and the Eye for a little while), has become domestic.  Bloody hell I compared *myself* to the Andrex puppy!

"You two feeling better?" Yugi asks as he steps into the room, violet eyes large and concerned.  Ryou's looking pitiful too.  At least neither of them said anything along the lines of, 'do you know how cute you two look like that?', because in my present condition I wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Yes, Little Light.  Just tired now," Yami soothes softly from above me.  His right arm curving over my head, he starts making small circles between my shoulder blades with his fingertips.  

"Just bored out of our skulls," I pipe up, deciding to expand upon Yami's answer with that important piece of information.

"Oh," Ryou mumbles from the doorway.  He looks thoughtful, but this is the nice kind of thoughtful.  "Would you like us to stay here for a little while to talk?" he offers after a few moments.

Oh, thank the Gods!  Outside stimulus!  Yami and I are both practically brain-dead at the moment so a conversation between us right now isn't exactly stimulating.  Obviously sensing both our enthusiasm for that idea, both of the Hikaris laugh slightly and come towards the bed.   Dropping to the ground cross-legged and shoulder-to-shoulder, they take each other's hands almost mindlessly and I can feel a tingle of warmth from Ryou at the contact.

Oh yeah.  With so much happening over the last couple of days I forgot about that completely.

"So how are you two getting on?  Been busy lately," I trail off by means of an explanation.  Not that I feel a need to explain myself.  Of course not.  I do what I like when I like...  

They smile softly at each other.  I am *not* going to say the 's' word about them.  I have moved beyond that.

"Um, good.  Better than ever," Ryou answers me honestly without trepidation.  Ah, he has moved past fear now and is standing up to me.  Good.  Have to leave him alone now.  Ah well.  Just gives me more time to pick on the Laxative.

/Yugi's pleased too.  He's worried about 'us' though.  Ryou told him about our, um, misunderstanding the other day/ Yami tells me through the bond.  

I sigh a little as the words trickle through.  We haven't used it since Yami collapsed and although I could still 'feel' him I've missed hearing him.  Evaluating someone's true thoughts and feelings is a heck of a lot easier and more precise if you're connected to them telepathically.  

The words are gentle and the touch against my mind light so as to spare my mushy brain any discomfort.  I think that his words did more help than hinder.  His mind is in better condition than mine so replying isn't going to be a problem.

/We're okay/

I pray that didn't go across as 'hopeful'.  I'm positive that all is as it should be.  Aside from the bed-ridden and the room-spins of course.  I don't feel anything amiss from his end of the bond and I still love him to pieces.  If anything I want to protect and keep him to myself now more than ever.  But that would be a tad selfish.  Not that I'm unaware that I'm a selfish son-of-a-bitch, just that he wouldn't let me keep him from the world.

Urgh.  My head is seriously fucked up.

/I agree.  You should get some more sleep/

/Quit mothering me/

I know he's smirking at me.  I can't see it but I just *know* he's smirking.  His end of the bond goes quiet for a moment and I can feel his aura go again meaning that he's reassuring Yugi that we're fine; relationship-stable, emotionally secure and all that bollocks.

/I think they want to be on their own with each other for a bit/ Yami sends back eventually followed by a mental yawn mirroring what he's doing physically.  Actually my own eyelids are burning.  Funny how when you're bored you can't slip into oblivion but when something remotely interesting comes along you just want to conk out.

/What?  They just got in from being with each other all bloody day!  I'm hurt, really/ I return, keeping my mental tone level even though I'm teasing.  I missed bantering with him.  My vision is starting to go grey so I won't be awake for much longer anyway. 

/Feeling neglected?/ he asks sounding genuine.  He can do this a little better than me.  Being the Pharaoh he had to be a master of feigning interest and talking bullshit convincingly.  Kinda like a modern-day manager actually.  I should pit him and Kaiba against each other in a business meeting one of these days.

/Hell yes/

/How about we sleep for a couple of hours and then I cover you with chocolate and spend a few more hours cleaning you up again?/

Ooh.  I like that.  Really.  Woke me up for a few seconds there.

/Can I do the same to you only with whipped cream?/

A long-suffering sigh.  /I suppose/

Fantastic!  Right, my plan for the next 10 hours is as follows; nap for four, get covered in chocolate and 'cleaned' for two, get artistic with cream for two, bask in afterglow and banter stupidly for two.  Good plan.

'Yami?  Yugi and I are going to go out now so we're not in your way.  I'll stay the night at his house and come back tomorrow morning, okay?'

Ah.  I've just remembered that my shields have been down for the last day.  So Ryou hear-yeah.  Well, if he takes our ideas then I want some credit for his squealing.  Urgh!  That was crude even for me.  Fuck it, I'm going to sleep.

I'll see you tomorrow *afternoon* Ryou.  Piss off and lock the door behind you.

Right, will just have a little sleep then start melting some Cadbury's Dairy Milk….

****

This will likely be the last of this series.  If something interesting and/or amusing occurs to me, be sure that I will add another chapter but otherwise I'm just writing 'Domination' now.  Thanks again for reading through all this and do me the pleasure of leaving a review.  

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Oh, if you're reading this in June 'Merry Christmas' for December (Like I'm ever going to re-load this chapter)!


	12. Theo

Not really an epilogue here, just an idea that I had and decided to add on.  Most of this non-series is made up of random events that just popped into existence in my head and this one is no different.  As you can see it is ridiculously long so reviews are practically obliged.  Hope you enjoy this new instalment and do think of said enjoyment when you encounter that happy little button at the bottom left hand corner of the page at the end. Theo 

By Ra I've missed this.  And by 'this' I mean this degree of closeness that- shit that's really bad, even for me.  All right.  'This' equals sex.  There.  My masculinity has been reaffirmed.  But it's not just the physical that I enjoy; it's the fact that it's Yami and I have him to myself in every way when we're together.

Yami and I hadn't slept with each other for three weeks before last night, and only Ra knows how in the Seven Hells that happened.  My lover recovered from the drain Zel had been exerting on him within a few days a month ago, so that wasn't a problem.  It was just that there were so many different *fucking* obstacles.  Well, non-fucking obstacles is probably a more accurate description for those come to think of it.

Little things.  Stupid little excuses that sent any plans we had made for each other to buggery and any time we *could* share straight to rat's arse.  To name but a few examples: Yugi was ill and Yami wanted to stay with him, Ryou's father came back for an exceptionally surprising and exceptionally long visit, some idiot tried to mug me and I spent most of the night making them beg for death, which I then didn't grant.  It was a unanimous decision that we couldn't let it happen ever again.  I swear my brain was starting to seize up because it sure as Hell wouldn't work when *he* was within fifteen feet of me.

So now I'm lying on Yami in the dewy afterglow waiting for my other senses to start working again and for my strength to return enough to move off of him, not that I really want to.  The bond is so open at the moment that the air seems to be thrumming around us and so I know I'm not hurting Yami with my weight on him.  I am extremely comfortable, but we planned to go steali- *shopping* today, and if I get too much energy back and I'm still led here we are not leaving the *room*.  Not that he'd mind…

Humph.  Bloody *shopping* too.  I promised that I'd try to be good for a few days after Yami got caught up in the little game of cat-and-mouse I was playing with the inhumanly big and strong security guard, Frank.  Him being the cat and me the mouse.  Yami tore up his favourite trousers and some of his skin going over the barbed wire on top of the wall when he got caught up in the chase.  Considerate sod was more concerned about the blood leaking out of my hands and legs though, but that concern quickly changed to anger after he was satisfied that I was physically fine and just stupid enough to have stolen from a shop with a human tank guarding its merchandise.    

/You still brooding over that, 'Kura?/ 

Smirking, I move my head from where it's pressed against his breastbone and sit up slightly, folding my arms across his chest and propping my chin on them.  He regards me through half-lidded eyes with amusement as I cock a brow at his question, tapping my fingertips briefly across his sides.

Yami responds by nudging my ankles with his heels, shifting his hips a little beneath my stomach as he readjusts his position.  Slender hands come up across my sides, sweeping across the many scars on my back until his forearms are crossed across my shoulder blades.  

Mmm.  This is nice.  We don't really need to go shopping; we can just stay like this all day.  It's not like the Hikaris can't go and get themselves food.  Actually, the pair are probably curled up with each other somewhere in the house as well, too bloody lazy to get up and do the shopping themselves.

We do get through food pretty quickly nowadays.  Yami and Yugi are here so often that they might as well be living here.  I think that they would just move in if it weren't for Yugi's Grandfather.  It's no hardship for them to just get up a little earlier to go over and help at the Shop; they've been doing it a lot lately.  They just don't like the idea of up and leaving the old guy alone.  Yami has a bit more leeway because he's older and not *technically* family, but he still only stays a handful of nights during the month whereas Yugi can only stay one or two.

I wouldn't mind having Yami around all the time I don't think.  He's in my head and heart-shit, here we go with the sap again- all the time so having him at arm's reach wouldn't be a bad thing.  I should ask him about it actually.  He'd need to work out a few things with his Hikari's Grandpa but I can't see anything wrong with it.  It's worth a discussion at least.

A familiar itch starts up on my chest, interrupting my musings, and I surreptitiously close a small section of the bond off so Yami won't notice it.  It's just a scar acting up and no need for his concern, but the way I got that scar would make it become his concern and I promised myself I'd never let him find out.

Yami always senses it on a subconscious level when it starts to tingle and this morning is no exception.  His left arm still holding me close, his right moves down so that his elbow is against his side and his hand forces its way beneath my chest to touch that particular spot.  He has no idea why he does it and I've never 'heard' him question it, and even if he did ask about it I'd lie to him anyway.

His fingers move minutely across the marred flesh, the movement a bit of an accomplishment considering the fact that his hand is trapped between both our bodies.  The soft sensation across the tingling feeling makes me shiver a little and he snorts lightly in amusement taking it for pleasure.  He couldn't be more wrong, but I won't say anything.  He would get suspicious and I don't want him asking questions about it.

That scar is a reminder of things that are best forgotten but that I personally want to remember.  Yami's always drawn to it without really knowing why because it's a mark made by magic, the residual energies burned into my skin and promising to stay for a good many years.  Only strong magic can leave lasting wounds like this and that's the kind of magic that Zel possessed.  

The rainbow-haired-psycho had lived inside Yami for centuries, something that I'll feel very pissed about until the end of my days so I wasn't surprised to find that my lover responds -albeit unknowingly- when what remains of Zel tingles.  It bothered me at first but there's nothing I can do about it.  I'm stuck with the mark and the sensations that twinge through it every few days that draw Yami to it like a magnet, responding to the loss of something that, albeit a monstrosity, was still a part of him.

Still, no point in bitching about the past.  It's just a scar now, one that'll act up just like all the others I have do on occasion, just a little differently.  No real bother there as I'm getting used to it now.  What's important here is that I have Yami and he's safe and most importantly he's *mine*.  

'Hmm'ing this happy musing to myself as I smile up at him softly (one of the very few things in life that I *can* do softly.  Go figure), I shift my position on Yami's body until my cheek is pillowed on my folded forearms.   Think I'll just close my eyes for a little bit.

'Yami?'

Figures.  Well, at least Ryou had the good sense to wait before trying to talk to me.  He knows perfectly well what I'd do to him if he interrupted *anything*.  Yami's hand falls still beneath my chest but the fingers that have been steadily creeping up my neck start to move in slow, methodical circles.

What do you want?

'Yugi and I were just talking and he said that they're having some money troubles with the shop.  Has Yami said anything to you?'

I frown a little at that and open my eyes minutely to look up at Yami as I think.  I had no idea that they were having problems.  I thought business was going great and all the rest of it.  Oh...  He doesn't want me worrying so he's omitted this little bit of information from me.

No Ryou, he hasn't said anything.  How bad is it?

'Pretty bad if my understanding is right.  Some sort of problems with the new lease, neither of us really understand.  Yugi's getting worried though and Yami hasn't spoken about it to him.'

So you want me to ask him about it I take it?

'If you wouldn't mind?'

I sigh mentally and close off the bond, opening my eyes fully and jumping slightly when I see that Yami is staring back at me through his lashes.  /Everything all right?/

"Actually I was going to ask you that," I state, sitting up a little feeling marginally pissed off that he hasn't been talking to me.  We're usually pretty open with each other so I'm naturally confused by the fact that he hasn't even mentioned something that is obviously important.  But I'm not hurt.  Not emotionally.  That would mean that I'm whipped which I am most certainly not.

A slight frown is my only response for a few seconds; quite reasonable since I've moved our conversation out of the bond and my eyes have got the steel tint that Ryou is always scolding me about in them.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean not telling me that the shop is having problems with cash.  Since when did you stop talking to me?"  Tuh.  I sound like a housewife.  Fantastic.  

"And what difference would it make?  You can't do anything about it so there's little point in saying."

Ooh, I think I've found a sore spot with this one.  Yami once was a Pharaoh.  Pharaohs didn't really have financial problems.  All this must be a bit new to him and I reckon he's feeling just a bit bitter.  All the more reason he should have bloody well *talked to me*.

"I didn't say that I would do anything to help, not actively anyway, unless you wanted me to.  But you still could have told me, that way if you got worried about it you could have talked to me because you're obviously bottling up so you don't upset Yugi."

He's silent which means I've won this argument.  I can faintly feel a coldly acidic tingle of guilt from his end so he obviously feels bad about having kept this from me.  I send back wordless reassurance and twitch my nose at him.  That usually makes him smile.

Today is the first exception to that.  Hmm.

"I'm sorry.  I'll keep you informed in the future.  It doesn't matter too much anyway. I'm sorting it out, and I'd feel better if you left me to do it on my own."

To say that that avowal took me by surprise would be an understatement.  Oh, I don't mean to insult Yami.  Quite the contrary; I'm flattered that he wants to help.  However, I can tell that he's planning to do this on his own and by his own means, and *that's* what surprises me.  He's independent entirely now and he's very intelligent, but I don't believe that he has the means to come up with a significant amount of cash in a very short period of time.  

/Trust me Bakura.  Just because I'm not a professional thief doesn't mean I can't come by money on my own.  Yugi and his Grandpa have done a lot for me and I want to repay them, and I'd appreciate it if you let me do it on my own./

I can understand that.  He wants to have a sense of accomplishment and all that bollocks at the end of it all.  That and the fact that he still has a bit of a problem with his pride and he'll refuse to ask for help until he absolutely has to. And when he does I'll be more than happy to do what I can.

I nod a little to show my 'consent' to his thoughts, silently promising to leave him to his schemes.  I have doubts, I'll admit it, but it's important to him that I have faith and confidence in his abilities to for the moment I'll feign it.  I have a strange feeling that he's going to pull this off somehow, although I can't see how.  There aren't any decently sized Duel Monsters competitions going on, and even then it would take time to cough up, and other than that I can't see how Yami is going to come by a small windfall.  I'll keep an eye on him and just wait and see how it all pans out.

I feel him blindly run the hand between my shoulders around to cup my face and letting it rest there as his eyes close and his breathing evens out.  I watch him until he's drifted off properly before tugging the blankets up around us properly and shifting slightly until I'm comfortable enough to sleep.

*****

It's been a week now and I'm starting to reassess the idea of Yami's money-obtaining capabilities.  I still have absolutely no idea how he's doing it, but I've been checking with Yugi through Ryou and it turns out that a significant amount of money has been 'appearing' in the cash register courtesy of Yami every morning for the last three days.  Apparently Yami is keeping his lips sealed about how he's doing this, and I'm not going to push.  If he wants to keep this secret that's fine.  I can't say how long that'll last though...

Still, the fact that no one has a clue about how Yami is doing this is really pissing me off though.  He thinks it's funny in his own sick little way but he has told me that he's *earning* it so I 'don't need to worry'.

The going bet is that he's doing some grunt-work at a bar, either using the Puzzle a bit to play security or is serving behind the bar because he buggers off about Eight and is back for Four the next morning.  I have no clue where he goes as I've never followed and don't check; he can have his privacy and secrets if he wants them.  He's does the same for me.  If this is still going on by the middle of next week though, I may have to follow him.  The curiosity is going to kill me and I find the secrecy more than a bit suspicious.

The Pup had a ludicrously stupid and yet intriguing thought that Yami had turned into a pimp for the last couple of nights, bringing on a fantastic speech from Anzu who is still in some sort of denial about the fact that Yami and I are practically cemented together.  The stupid cow was sticking up for him against an obvious *joke*, glaring at me as well as Joey as if it was somehow my fault.  I think I'm going to have to dye her eyebrows neon pink or something fairly soon.  She really has been pushing her luck around me lately so she needs to be punished.

Anyway, getting back to Yami.  It's evening three of the nights he's left for 'work' as he's calling it.  I'll admit that my curiosity is starting to get the better of me and I almost tailed him out but I restrained myself.  Ryou took pity on me (I really feel the need to punch myself for looking pathetic enough to *warrant* that word) and invited me over to the Game Shop, telling me to wear something nice.  

I scowled at that but chucked on a dark blue shirt all the same.  He told me as I walked over that they were going out tonight for Joey's sake.  He needed some sort of chat with Yugi and they were taking him out to 'loosen him up'.  I could do that in a small room inside of ten minutes with just my bare hands.  Just depends how 'loose' they actually want him…

I walk at a slower pace than normal, daydreaming mostly thanks to the 'loosen up Joey' bit and having walked past a group of kids playing baseball.  Everyone was just starting to leave the house when I finally turned up, my brow disappearing into my hairline when I saw that all three of them were looking pretty sharp.  Not 'dressed-to-the-nines' sharp but sharp in a casual sort of way.  Guess 'we' must have lent Yugi a little money for this one.  No matter.  Ryou flashed me a grin as he came to my side and I growled a little at the Pup as he walked past me to take the lead with Yugi.

The blond didn't even flinch, clear indication that he's gotten used to me and my ways and that I'm going to have to start trying harder.  I'll do something to him tomorrow; he does look like shit right now.  I can see why the Hikaris are taking him out.  I'm starting to wonder if this little trip is something different to the booze-up that I've been anticipating.

"Ryou, where are we going?" I asked, glancing down at my lighter half briefly.  I note that Joey glances over his shoulder at the question and slows his steps minutely.  Obviously he's clueless too.

'The new club that opened last month.  Yugi saw an advertisement for it the other day and figured it would be fun' he replies evenly, looking up at me with a small smile playing, slender hands losing themselves in the pockets of his trousers.  He obviously doesn't want Joey knowing this and from they way Yugi is shaking his head with a grin, they're agreed to keep him unknowing.

If this is one of those clubs with flickering lights, fake smoke and cheesy music, there *will* be Hell to pay.  I'll turn around the second I get in the door.  But those kinds of places don't exactly seem like the sort of place where you'd talk to someone to cheer them up, no matter how big a moron they are.  They'd end up walking out feeling more miserable than when they walked in.

'Exactly what sort of 'club' is it?' I press.  If he doesn't answer me straight this time, I'm going to get very pissed off.

'A gay men-only club.  Is that all right?' he replies with a knowing smirk as he stares at me directly, his face looking entirely too much like mine for a few brief seconds.  I naturally grin back and pick up my pace a little.  It really has been years since I stopped by a place like that and the fact that it's brand-new makes it all the more intriguing.  In the end it took us ten minutes to get there, the merry troop travelling in silence when Joey got the hint that no one was going to give away the destination.

'Theo' is huge, but I know that big doesn't always mean good.  The line of blokes queuing outside the door and around the corner however starts to give something away.  Walking past the guys on the other side of the black velvet rope, I see their eyes travel up and down the slender forms of the Hikaris and protectiveness (or possibly possessiveness.  I can't really tell) kicks in so I walk up between them and sling an arm over both their shoulders.

What?  Ryou's my reincarnation and Yugi is my lover's.  I have a duty to make sure they don't get their arses slapped by twats in a line.  The Pup is on his own though, and I'm not overly bothered by the stares I can feel burning into by back and, generally, my arse.  Handy having a Millennium Item.  It's a bit like having eyes in the back of my head sometimes.  I can get a feel for what people around me are doing or feeling when I concentrate and the chewable notion around me right now is anticipation and lust.

Reaching the front, I see Yugi hand the bouncer/tank/Frank a red card with something inscribed on it.  He nods a little and opens the heavy bronzed door for us, closing it firmly once we're inside.  And now that we're inside I can happily state that 'big' sometimes does equate as 'good'.  Bloody fantastic is a better term actually.  The Pup's jaw is on the floor.

The building is four stories and this room looks to be four stories, metal stairs leading up to different levels lining the walls and crisscrossing a good few feet up.  It's quite dark inside and the shadows are practically vibrating with the music pounding through the air.  There must be ten speakers in here, at least.  It's obviously quieter higher up as I can see couples drinking and talking at tables on the highest levels.  

A large square stage with three floor-to-ceiling poles protruding from it stands three or four feet up from the center of the room, what looks like Harem boys occupying it at the moment, surrounded by the dance/drooling floor.  A short catwalk with silk and gauze curtains leads to it and a cinema-size video screen is on the wall behind it playing music videos to compliment what the speakers are pounding out.  To the right facing the catwalk is the bar, seemingly carved into the bricks.

My eyes remained fixed on the bar for some reason and I dimly hear Yugi tell me that they'll see me later before they leave me standing by the door.  Someone stumbling back into me knocks me back to my senses and I blink a little before making my way through the crowd to the hole in the wall to see why exactly it had captured my interest so much.  After a few steps a gap in the crowd forms and I catch a fleeting glimpse of *Yami*.  What in the Hell is he…?

Fuck, *this* is where he's been!  I owe Yugi a pack of cards.  He figured Yami was working behind a bar somewhere.  Still I doubt he'd figured that it was in a place like this.  Dressed in what looks like a bloody *spandex* black tank top and his usual tight leather trousers, his hair seems to have a bit of an extra flare and I'd be lying if I didn't say he was wearing a bit of makeup.  Oh, I have *really* been missing out on something here.

Grinning to the extent where I think that my head is going to crack into two pieces, I start to move towards him, fully intending to arrange a bought of tequila-slammers between us when he's done later.  But when I get to within just a few meters of him another guy dressed in the same getup comes up beside Yami and taps his shoulder, telling him something before he takes over and Yami walks off.

Continuing at a bit of a brisker pace, I make it to the bar and muscle a place between a blond and a skinhead.  The new guy comes over and looks at me expectantly with a smile.  "Cool hair you've got there.  What're you having?"

"Bacardi, and a word with the guy who just left," I reply smoothly, leaning my weight onto my arms as I cross my legs at the ankles, looking up over my shoulder and using the Ring briefly to find Ryou.  The three are on the top floor around their own table, I can see.

The barman's smile widens and he speaks as he rummages around at the shelves for the bottle.  "Ebony?  We've been getting more guys in since he started.  Figures.  It's always the exotic ones.  He's taken though, mate, and I wouldn't appreciate you pushing on him."

He says that last part firmly with no smile as he puts the glass containing the clear fluid in front of me and I have to restrain my own grin.  Good to know that Yami's being looked out for when I'm not around.  He's more than capable of taking care of himself, I know, but I still want someone to keep an eye on him.

"I know he's taken.  He's *mine*."  I think growling that last bit out and scowling darkly was a bit of overkill there, but it was purely instinctual.  The barman just grins again and grabs my hand in a firm handshake.

"Hey, congratulations!  Yeah, I'll grab him for you.  He's on in a minute so I'll take you round back afterwards.  Sorry about the screw-up with the performance times.  He's supposed to be on later, I know, but there was this whole thing with the lighting and a guy broke his wrist rehearsing so everything got shot to shit for a bit.  On the upside, I finally get to meet the famous 'Kura!  I'm gone at Ten so I've never seen you before- shit, I'm going on.  Hang around here when your fella's finished and I'll let you through."

And then he's off serving drinks again, leaving me standing here like a Lemming as I try to sort out my thoughts.  Giving up after a few seconds of turning over the words 'on', 'performance' and 'rehearsing' in my head, I take down the Bacardi in one go and jerk around to face the stage when the pounding music which had become natural ceased.

The air seemed to get charged in those silent moments in the dark, the crowd whispering among themselves and steadily getting closer to the stage.  I start to hear something familiar from above, old and quiet sounds that stir at my memories.  Chains.  I can hear *chains* clinking against each other.  Now I'm interested…

Every light suddenly blasts into life and everyone's blinded for a few seconds as the music starts up in a strong beat that's steadily getting louder and faster.  Something dark drops down from between the three poles, slowing its decent by planting booted feet against one pole whilst his hands grab the other two until he lands.  The figure is distorted by the mass of small and large metal links draped all over them and the deep blue light is too dark to make anything out.

But I know exactly who's on the stage.  The tugging in my stomach and the warmth down the bond tells me in no uncertain terms.  He doesn't know I'm here; everything is blocked off on his end and I can tell he's concentrating.  After that bloody stunt (which I might have to kill him for later) he'd need to be.  

Three more figures slide down the poles as the lights finally raise and the music reaches its real beat and volume.  Fire is flickering on the screen framing him from behind, silhouetting his form and his outfit beautifully.  There's suddenly a lot of shouting.  I think Yami's gotten popular here…

And no wonder.  His trousers look like they've been painted on and his chest in bare, slick with oil so that the images of flames from behind him flash oranges and gold across his smooth skin.  Chains of varying thickness wind loosely around his waist, two trailing limply off to cuffs on each slender wrist and the rest draping around booted feet, buckle-laden leather encasing up to mid-thigh.  

Did it just get a lot warmer in here or is it just me?  As it is my own trousers have just gotten *extremely* painful.  He'd better be able to keep all that gear…  Grabbing the guy in front of me who dared to get in my line of sight by the neck, I shove him roughly to one side just in time to see the other dancers to finish dropping down, dressed the same but without the chains, and for all four of them to start to dance. 

I don't give a shit that almost everyone is watching now, catcalling and even trying to climb up on the stage (Metal-tipped boots seem to be stamping on a lot of fingers that way), Yami's mine and that knowledge has me grinning with a smug kind of pride.  All these bozos want him and he's mine in practically every way.  He can sway and snap up there all he damn well wants and I'll just watch, knowing that everyone around me is going to be very jealous because I'm going to be the one to take him home.  

It's a fairly short sequence, which has me feeling a little disappointed when it's over, but the whole thing is damn good.  Lots of movements that are practically identical to ones that I've pulled in fights combined with sinuous movements and sultry looks combine to give a fantastic performance.  I had no idea that Yami could dance and I have no idea where the Hell he learned to do all that.  I think I'll ask him later.  No, I'm not going to feign ignorance about this one; it's *way* too much fun to have him know that I've seen him move like that.

I feel a warm hand on my shoulder and turn lazily, partially interested in what's coming on next and still in a bit of shock from seeing Yami.  It's the bartender again and he shouts something over the din before leading me across the wall to the corner.  Shoving open the heavy bronze door, he lets me pass through and points down the short corridor before closing it again behind me.

The passageway is narrow and empty, dimly lit and very clean.  Moving along it dimly hearing the music and voices reverberating through the walls, I find a single door on the left at the end.  Opening it without hesitation, I find myself in a room filled with costumes, chairs and make-up 'stations' against one wall.  Four dancers wearing little more than feathers walk past me with a friendly greeting and then it's just the remaining dancer and me.  

Yami's unhooking the last couple of chains from his waist in front of one of these 'stations', his back turned against me.  I grin and approach him silently, hazing over the bond so that he wouldn't be able to sense me even if he hadn't blocked me and was looking.  I'm just about to touch him when he turns for some unknown reason and yelps in a way that is truly cute (I'm starting to think that I'm going to have to get some help with all these stupid words) and his bright eyes are huge.  The shock quickly wears off and he breaks into a smile, practically jumping on me in a hug.  Hmm.  Dancing…  Adrenalin…  Hyperness…  Yes…  

Steadying us instantly, I nip at the side of his neck and curl my lip a little when I discover that that oh-so-nice oil doesn't taste oh-so-nice.  "I think someone needs to be stripped down and dropped in a bath."

He pulls back from me still smiling, looking down at his smeared skin and nodding a little in agreement.  "It's easy to get off.  The smell's harder.  I'm surprised you never notice."

I shrug a little.  He has a point though.  Why had I not noticed it?  I'm supposed to be highly observant and always on my toes.  By Ra I'm getting sloppy.  I've been clinging to my old ways for weeks but they're just slipping away from me.  And I hate to say it but I don't think it's too big a problem because I don't need them anymore.

"How did you find me?  I knew you would in the end, I just want to know whether of not you followed me," he asks, stepping away from me a little and starting to unhook the last two chains at his waist.  

No, I think they should stay actually.  He quirks a brow at me as my hand stills his over the fine metal links, grinning to himself as he opens the top draw of the white desk and takes out a bottle and cotton wool.  I let him carry on as I answer his inquiry, crossing my arms and leaning on the desk close to him.

"I came with Ryou and Yugi."  It's funny how wide his eyes go, and the eyeliner makes it kinda freaky.  Close up I can see his wearing glitter as well.  I'm going to have so much fun with all of this…  "The Pup's here as well.  They're talking about something; I don't really give a damn.  Don't think they've seen you though; they looked pretty engrossed in their little conversation last I checked.  Bleedin' crime if you ask me."

I lean forward again with intention quite obvious and almost make contact before Yami dances out of my reach, still holding a saturated lump of cotton wool.  His aura flickers as he checks on Yugi, obviously scouting for feelings of surprise or shock.  Obviously he didn't find anything as the flicker goes and he raises the cotton to his face to start wiping off the crap he's piled on.  

"Leave it on," I tell him flatly before he can start wrecking the good job whoever it was made of his face.  He looked good before but this is like icing on the cake.  His features aren't covered at all.  Just, more accentuated, and accentuated I like.  He doesn't even try to protest, walking back to the desk and hopping up onto it next to me, picking apart the soaking cotton with his fingers.  Idle hands.  Someone' s still feeling energetic…

"Whatever they're talking about must be fairly serious," he muses aloud still staring at his fingers before smirking up at me with narrowed eyes.  "What'd they bring you along for?"

What?  Does everyone think that I can't do the serious shit?  I think that after last month I proved myself quite well thank you very bloody much.  I just don't give a damn this time round is all.  Why would I care about the Pup?  "Ryou invited me along, actually.  New club, unknown hazards for our *innocent* little Hikaris and all that.  You owe me for not letting your Hikari get groped, by the way."  Okay that one was a bit low but I'm feeling, well, it's kind of obvious considering what I just saw.

"Hmm.  I know more about that now than I ever wanted to."  He sighs a little.  "And don't go all Ring-ho on me when we get outside.  You don't need to banish any souls.  I'm stopping in a few days."

Now why would he think that I'd try and kill the stupid motherfuckers who would dare even try to lay a finger on him? I let the comment about 'stopping in a few days' pass because, quite simply, right now I'm too randy and playful to do a 'serious conversation'.

There are a few minutes of silence as I stare at his profile and he continues fiddling with the damp cotton.  "Where did you learn to dance like that anyway?" I ask finally in an admittedly sly voice, tipping my head back a bit so that I'm looking down my nose a little at him.

I'm ecstatic to see a light blush flare up under the glittery tint on his cheeks.  "I picked it up really.  Got some extra balance from the puzzle and being something other than mortal means no cramps or breathlessness."

All right, he answered my question but I want to poke at this just a *little* bit more.  And when I prod it tends to lead somewhere…  I won't look into what I just thought to myself.  Really, I wont.

"No, where did you learn to move that, *sinuously*?  I never figured you for the dance-sex type."

He doesn't look at me and I can sense his end crackling a little as he tries to come up with a satisfactory answer.  Or just *an* answer.   I'm enjoying this sick little thing I've started more than I should be considering that my love is on the verge of squirming.

I tip my head to the side with my expression serious, feigning true consideration and thought.  "You didn't used to be a women, did you?"

His head snaps to face me and his eyes are large with surprise as the question delivered entirely deadpan, and my face isn't giving anything away now.  

"No!"

"I mean in another past life, or did you just get bored in the Puzzle and um, *fiddle* with your physical appearance.  You know, just for kicks."

He gapes at me a little.  He knows I'm joking but still can't believe I'm saying all these things completely seriously.  Yami's fun to wind up like this.  He's a bit of a sucker in this area if I find the right spot to hit.  Just like a little wind up mouse.  Of he goes!  Whee!

"No!  Never!  I'm one-hundred percent male, and I've never pulled a Nyannichuan, nor have I ever wanted to," he twitters having hopped off the desk and moved to stand in front of me.  His posture, entirely subconsciously, has turned ludicrously defensive.  Well, I am attacking his masculinity here.  Hmm.  Wonder how much masculinity a gay guy can actually have?  Something worth pondering whilst I am either A: drunk or B: stoned, in the near future.

"Ah, yes, utterly and completely man-flesh, hmm?" I prod, stepping off the desk myself and advancing slowly, giving my hips a little more movement than usual.  

"Exactly."

"Man-flesh that is completely unmarred except for, oh-"

I look at his bare shoulder feigning having seen something before lunging at him and beginning work on a mark there with my teeth.  He stumbles back a little laughing, landing us both on the floor as I make a point not to do anything to help our balance.

"The door's not locked," he manages between laughs.

/See me care/ I send back, still working on his shoulder.  Gods, this oil is foul.  The skin underneath however is most delectable.

"Seriously Bakura, stop.  Someone could walk right in."

I'm sensing that he actually means that.  I stop my roving hands and settle for finishing off his hickey.  Nearly done now…

"No!" he tells me firmly, pushing me off of him and sitting up on his hands.  Obviously I didn't back off fast enough for him.  "I have to work here for the next three days."

Okay, I can see his point but that dance was really, really sexy!  He comes home *now*.  Well, that is he would have if someone hadn't just broken a chair across my shoulders.  That kinda of hurts a little.

"Get the hell off him!"

Oh hell.

"You all right, Eb'?"

Yami's on his feet and getting behind me and in front of *them* as I try to get the funny black stars to go away.  "It's not like it sounds.  This is Bakura; my boyfriend.  I appreciate the 'saving', really, but *please* don't do that again."

Yes, please don't do that again.  Shite, that'll bruise for a bit.  Might have to shake this guy's hand after I break his neck.  Yami's knelt down next to me now, a hand going to my shoulder and his head bowed to see my face beneath a curtain of hair.

"Are you okay?  I'm sorry, I know how I made that-"

"My fault.  No worries.  Can we get the hell out of here now?"

He nods a little and holds my elbow as I stand.  The room does a funny tilt type thing but it goes away before I can start to enjoy it.  I think I've earned something now, and his sympathy is always good to play off.

/We tell the Hikaris about this now/

Surprise comes back to me but I answer back before he gets a chance in.

/I think this is something Yugi's gonna want to know about, and I want to see their faces.  Not ashamed, are you?/

/Of course not.  I'm getting money for the shop, not turning myself into some sort of whore./

/Good.  And now tell me that you get to keep all this stuff./

A hesitation.  Looks like he's going to have to call in favours or cough up.  /I can keep it.//

Right then.  Off to the Hikaris to says 'hi' and to introduce them to Yami's new makeup, and then I'm going to take him home and put him through the mattress.

****

I laughed all the way home from Theo and it was even funnier when Yami acted all serious about it.  I'm still snickering a bit internally actually.  The Pup, fancies, the rich brat with the six-foot pole rammed up his arse.  This has made my year.

That's what Ryou and Yugi were counselling him about, probably taking him to 'Theo' to get his mind off things and lighten his spirits or something mushy and 'deep' like that.  I could screw around with the blond so much now that it has actually become almost too easy to bother with.  Well, that is I *would've* been able to screw around with him (not like that!  Bloody hell, I'm not *that* depraved) if not for the fact that Yami is fairly chummy with him.

Damnit.  Ruins my fun.  Well, Yami provides fun in other ways, pretty much passed out from it now actually as I scrub out the smell of oils from my hair and skin in the shower, musing to myself silently.  I kind of have an obligation not to hurt Yami's feelings no matter how indirectly that might be.  I don't like hurting his feelings so there's no obligation there, but pissing him off indirectly as I do something for my own perverted amusement does have a restriction on it now.  

How can I leave this alone?!  It's a crime too!  Joey is head over heels for Kaiba!  The torture-induced scenarios that just come to the top of my head are almost reason enough to ignore the friendship-shite and be diabolically evil.  But as Yami reminded me Joey didn't make our lives difficult when he found out about us.  Well, except for that day at the arcade but Yami seemed to want to smooth that one over.

Yami seemed to want to smooth a lot of things over last night, like how he even *got* the job here for a start.  Yugi tried asking but Yami dodged it expertly and we all left that one alone.  I caught Ryou giving him a rather interesting look though, which made me send a little warning his way.  Nothing serious.  Just a 'keep your own' type thing.  Nicer than my usual warnings actually.

Yugi was quite appreciative of the whole thing and offered to come and 'offer his support' for the whole thing for the next three nights, something that Yami rapidly declined.  I can understand that one.  Dancing like that knowing that your Hikari is watching it just-urgh.  Me going however was far better received.  This way Yami can dance his tight little arse off for me.  I am liking this by the way, however there is no way in hell that I'm learning anything and joining him.  That notion popped up as well last night and popped right back down again at the look on my face.

Anyway, getting back to the dog-crossed-lovers thing.  Thinking about it I think they'd get on all right given a bit of time and incentive.  Yami and I were even bigger rivals that Joey and Kaiba are and our relationship is solid.  Please note the 'r' word there.  I consider this a personal achievement.  

I'm resigned to listen to Yami for the moment and just sit back to see what happens.  If everything goes stagnant though I'm taking matters into my own hands though, and I can already taste the merriment that will spawn from my involvement.  But for now I'll just wait and see.

****

I make a point to leave room to continue but leave the opportunity for me to leave it, but this chapter leans more towards the former than the latter.  My time is pretty much dominated by collage and exams at the moment (and will be for the next few weeks) so there won't be another chapter for a long time.  'Domination' is the only other active story which I try to update monthly, and this one gets updated when I get a good idea and can be arsed to write and post it.

Leave a review contained praise, chocolate and other such dire necessities, and you might hear from me again in the near future!  Thanks.


	13. Revelations

'Domination' is on something of a hiatus and I was feeling creative, so this came into being.  It's got lyrics in it, be warned, but it's not a songfic so don't worry.  Getting dark again and less humorous, but hopefully you'll still like it.  There's quite a lot here because there's been a large gap between this and the last chapter, even though there wasn't really a necessity for a continuation.  Anyway, I'll let you get on now.  Happy reading, and thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! Revelations 

The last couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least but pretty much balanced in terms of pros and cons.  With Zel obliterated down to his every last cell, Yami's pretty much back to normal now.  Everything at the shop finance-wise is back to normal, but he's made a few friends at Theo and the work has grown on him so he's stuck to the job.  Not that I mind.  He's sticking most of what he earns into an account for our future plan of getting our own place and ditch-I mean living independently of our sweet little other halves.  

Oi.  They've been a headache come to think of it.  Those two have recently seemed to have gotten it into their little heads that double dates are 'fun'.  I state with the utmost certainty that they are not.

We did it once, and once was enough for me.  Yami wasn't too bothered but the Hikaris enjoyed it so now everyone's pestering me to let us all go out together again for ice cream or some shit.  Certainly not the bar again.  That was something of an amusing mistake.  We went there first for our little 'double-date' and then onto Theo.  We all had a fair bit to drink, but not a stupid amount although I can't speak for Yami.  He seemed to be in rather a good mood that night, or unspeakably depressed.  Either way, he drank an unhealthy amount of cider and I believe he should build a tolerance to alcohol so I let him carry on.  Mistake one…

We spent the rest of the night hunting for Yami only to find him in the morning asleep next to the television at home, his jacket intact, his shirt missing and a nice new tattoo at the base of his spine.  It hurt like a bitch for a few days so the last week has been spent slapping moisturiser onto it in an attempt to soothe it.  Tat's over bone always hurt more, and this one covers several vertebrae.

He was more than a little pissed about the supposed 'desecration' of his body and swears that he has no memory of it, as well as swearing to never touch alcohol again for the rest of his immortal life.  I just pointed out that it could have been a lot worse.  He could have requested –which may have seemed a great idea in his bombed head at the time- to have 'Welcome Aboard' tattooed onto a vital part of his anatomy.  'Anzu for Queen' would have been pretty bad too come to think of it.  

The one he's got isn't too bad though.  Not quite what I'd have carved into my skin, but nice still.  It's like a little fountain made up of black and purple colours, the purple fading to pink near the tips.  It's sparse –decoration rather than a picture- so it doesn't look tacky.  Bit feminine, but one of us should tip that way at some point for some sort of balance.

The Joey/Kaiba situation hasn't changed a great deal since I found out.  The Brat is still referring to the Laxative using members of the canine family and the Laxative is still mooning pathetically over the Brat.  How tiresome.  It's all getting very annoying because the gang is trying to sort it all out spouting crap like 'they'd be wonderful together' and 'they're such a cute couple'.  Makes me want to get creative with a nail gun and just do it for them so I can get some peace.  

Moving onto other more successful couples:  Yugi and Ryou are getting on like a squirrel sprayed with Lynx and set on fire.  I did that the other day actually: Homemade Blowtorch.  I should start a website.  I could kick Blue Peter's arse any day with my ingenious and creative toys.  That's another thing I've been doing recently; TV and lots of it.

Quite often now after a day of wreaking pain, havoc and torment throughout the city I'm not really in the mood to go out, so Yami buggers off to work and I channel-snorkel, or whatever phrase it is that Ryou uses.  Quite recently I've started to get into 'Will and Grace'.  It's a tad more intelligent than 'Friends', which has just gotten so messed up since I last saw it, and it's growing on me.  I watch it mainly for Jack.  Jack's great.  Jack's one of those few wonderful people in this miserable world who I want to lock in a room with Malik for a few hours and watch what happens through a one-way window.  Bart Simpson is another one of those people.

I'm also finding it interesting how people like myself are shown on television.  No, I don't mean crazed psychopaths; although that's something I'll have a good pick at at some point.  I mean gays.  It's interesting.  None of us are bloody like that!  I for one do not act like both my wrists are broken, worship fashion and speak like I've been castrated.   Oh, I've met a few like Jack in my time, memories that still make my skin crawl, but it's still only a handful.  TV's messed up.  I've got eternity by my reckoning, or something close to it, so I'll make a point to fix it at some point during my existence.

Right now though I'm helping Yami 'warm up' for work tonight.  Not quite in the way I wanted to but he insisted so I'm playing along.  At the moment I'm pushing down on his shoulders to get his chest as close to his crossed legs as he can manage, holding him there until he signals for me to let him go.  We've been going through stretching exercises for about half an hour and neither of us have spoken to each other yet; we're both lost in our own thoughts, and I think Yami's feeling more than a little anxious.

The last time he was at Theo he ended up getting drugged and nearly carted off.  Sensibly, he took the few days off performing that were offered to him, but he's still nervous.  I don't blame him, but he hasn't got anything to fear from the morons who tried it on him.  I made sure of that.  Apparently this sort of thing happens to the dancers every now and then but it usually doesn't get very far, the bouncers nipping it in the bud pretty quickly.  The guy who let Yami get carted out on account of him being 'anaemic' got a pretty heavy disciplinary and a grievous error like that shan't be happening again.

I had just been settling into a ludicrously gory film I'd found when our bond suddenly became very languid and very dull, a sensation that I only got when Yami had been 'sick'.  I wouldn't have picked up on it had I not insisted over the past few weeks to keep the bond open at all times, something that Yami initially protested at first saying that it made it harder to concentrate.  

I wore him down though and it's lucky for him that I did.  There were no feelings of panic or alarm; it just went very dull and 'sleepy' very abruptly.  So, feeling a very large degree of concern, I decided to check on him and so got down to Theo as fast as I could.  

Just in time too as whoever had dumped who-knows-what into his drink had just been leaving with his pals.  So, after beating the shit out of them and merrily erasing any happy childhood memories that they had ever possessed, I took Yami home.  Well, mine and Ryou's rather than the Game Shop.  I had severely doubted that Yugi and their Grandfather would have appreciated a heart attack right then.

It took me an hour to bring him out of the drug-induced daze, mostly through shouting and swearing at him down the bond, and then all I could do was leave the Puzzle to it.  When he was completely out of it though, when he was utterly helpless…  I haven't been that scared in a while.

So, tonight I'm taking precautions.  I'm walking him to Theo, staying for his shift and then walking him home.  I get a free night out and don't have to worry about him and he gets extra security.  No worries. 

"I think that'll be enough, thank you," Yami murmurs suddenly, breaking me out of my reverie.  I release him with an unseen nod; cricking my neck as I stand and watching him rise to his feet.  He smiles at me before reaching for his duffle bag and slinging it over his shoulder, making his way to the front door.  I'm two steps behind him, checking for my keys and Ryou's wallet as I go out the door.

It's a good half-mile walk to Theo, a distance that is seemingly amplified when you're walking in boots with no socks at two in the morning carting your drugged up lover.  But tonight it's a nice distance for a stroll.  Dusk is just settling in and there's a good hour before the club opens, but Yami's got a tricky costume to get into apparently and would appreciate the extra time.

"So what exactly are you doing tonight?"  I ask with mild curiosity.  I've found that all the routines change quickly so that things don't get stale, and I'm pretty keen to know what Yami'll be up to this evening.

"Well, it's Moshpit Monday so you can expect a lot of sweat for a start.  Ah, Tony wants all of us to be as useful as possible so he's trying to-"

"Hang on, who's Tony?"

"New management.  Anyway, he's getting us all to try different things.  Last week he was trying to get Stu to learn to fire breathe.  Apparently that didn't go too well, so he's taming it down now.  He wants us to try singing next," he trails off looking notably bitter.  His hands tighten around the strap of his bag and I grin knowingly.

"Let me guess: you're the musical guinea pig for tonight?"

He tips his head to the side and gives me a slanted look.  "However did you guess?"

I shrug.  Yami singing should be good, particularly given the nature of Theo's clientele.  Odds are it's going to be dark and dirty.  Lovely.  I've heard Yami sing a handful of times and I must admit he isn't too bad.  He's got a deep and strong voice that could be well suited to a few things.  He's not quite a pop act, but certainly a good singer. 

"What're you singing then?"

"Ah, that I'm not going to say.  You'll find out later."  A sidelong smirk and we lapse back into silence.  It stays that way for the rest of our little walk to Theo, going in around the back straight into the changing rooms where there is already a fair flock of young lads.  Most of them are having a nip to drink, likely for nerves, and the rest are just talking and comparing costumes.  A new set tonight then.

Yami tells me that he'll be back in a minute just as a cry of 'Kura!' reaches my ears.  Turning on my heel, I see the bartender I first met when I found out Yami was working here sashaying towards me.  

"Long time no see!  Sorry to year about Eb', but we've got extra guys in tonight so no worries.  Nice to see you in early, and you can bet I'll get you a good spot to see your boy.  You're gonna be damn pleased, I tell ya.  I've been watching him in rehearsals and I just know that Tony's gonna have him holding this stint for some time.  Christ, who'd have thought he'd be the only one out of us lot who could actually hold a note?"  

I actually have to hold up my hand to get him to shut up because he could happily go on like this forever.  He does so instantly with a smile, not looking at all offended.  He's used to this from me by now and he's well aware of what he's like.  I don't mind him though.  He's pretty tight with Yami and he's never given me a hard time, thus putting him in my good books.

Stu (he insists I call him 'muffin' but I've refused point blank.  The only person I'd ever call 'muffin' would be Yami and he'd hit me for it) is kitted up in black trousers tonight, a silver gauze shirt hanging loosely off his chest which compliments the metallic makeup he's wearing.  Oddly, it's quite hard to tell if he's going to perform or serve drinks tonight.

Stu seems to read my mind.  "I'm on Eb's set tonight.  It was one of his conditions for getting up there and opening his mouth at all.  A new guy's tagging along as well, but he's a sweetie with a high arse so neither of us have any qualms.  He can move well enough but we've got it easy compared to Eb in terms of costumes.  I think Tony is actually trying to incite summut with the shit he's got him wearing.  Oh, that's a thought.  He's going to need a hand.  You go find him and I'll see you in a few."

And then he's gone.  He claps a hand to my cheek with a grin, winks and then twirls on one heel to stride off into the foray.  Strange man.  I'm getting used to him though so it only takes me a few blinks before I can move again.  

Finding Yami isn't hard as everyone knows who I am now and just points me in the right direction.  I find myself outside of the room where all the costumes are kept.  I open the door and go inside without hesitating and begin sauntering between the racks of clothing to find my little performer.

He's obviously just found his outfit, running his hands along part of it still on the hanger amidst the other costumes.  I stand a few feet away from him, shoving my hands into my pockets.

"I forgot it was this bad," he sighs, a quaint red hue spreading across his cheekbones.  All right, I'm desperate to see what this is now, especially since it's something I'm going to have to 'help him into'.  That equates in my mind as something I'm going to have to pour him into.

"Let's see it then."

He hands me the hanger and I take a moment to admire the craftsmanship.  Wow.  Black, thin leather trousers that have been divided into halves just so they can be put on, a barely noticeable silver zip connecting the legs and waist around, under and behind the crotch.  Flared a little at the bottom, this is as tight as clothes can physically get.  I hope Yami hasn't eaten today…

I mistook this silvery netting stuff for junk but it actually looks like a very flimsy top.  Cobweb style, it looks like it'll just about cover his chest, leaving his midriff and arms bare.  And they want him to *sing* in this?  Ra, I'd pay just for him to stand still in this let alone perform.  Tony really is trying to start a riot, and if one doesn't flare up, I'm going to feel very insulted on Yami's behalf.

/Um, Bakura?  Are you okay?  You're been staring at that a long time/

I nod weakly, running my fingers through the shimmering net material.  I wonder if I can get this anywhere or if I'm just going to have to steal this exact costume…  

/I know there's not a lot to it, but I haven't been able to get out of wearing it all week so they're not going to let me off the hook now.  It could have been worse/

Hell, it couldn't have been better!  Snapping my head back up, I meet his concerned expression with a broad grin.  "Well love, I think we should get you into these trousers first, and I use the term loosely."

Yami rolls his eyes and snatches the costume back, staring at it with a pained look again before carrying it around to the back of the room.  "I think we're going to need the oil."

Oh, this is going to be a very good night.

****

Stu told me to go up the first balcony for the show to get the best view and to avoid being trampled.  Apparently the stage had been raised a few feet because of people trying to climb on it in the past and because the area around it was going to be a Moshpit, the first balcony was the only place to be.  They'd even opened up the second bar on this level, which was very convenient for me.

Theo was now officially open.  Music blared from the ludicrous amount of speakers around the ground floor and strobe lights flickered all over the place, videos playing on the big screen above the stage.  There was already a healthy crowd but it would be another fifteen minutes before the actual performances started to give everyone time to warm up and, if they were queuing, get in.

I had Yami's Puzzle hidden under my shirt as well as the Ring, my partner telling me that there wouldn't be 'room' for it tonight.  This in plain speak means that there's going to be some close-contact grinding involved and that even if he did hide the Puzzle it would still be noticeable.  I don't mind though; just makes me feel more powerful.  Power, sex, alcohol and more power, all in one evening.  I could get drunk off the euphoria alone.

Making my way up the metal stairs leading to the balcony, I idly glance about myself and miss a step when my eyes lock on Kaiba.  Kaiba!  At *Theo*.  The Pup does stand a chance in hell then.  What interests me though, aside from the utterly miserable look on the Brat's face, is the large and almost empty bottle on the table in front of him.  As I watch I see him down some more from his glass, topping it up needlessly again straight after.

I stalk over to him with narrowed eyes, reaching over his shoulder from behind him and snatching the bottle up before his dulled reflexes can stop me.  Bourbon?  How fucking stupid is he?  I thought Kaiba was a genius, and here he is drinking something that's 80 Proof out of a tall glass like it's soda!  He's got to have a death wish.  I take another look at the contents.  Nearly two thirds gone.  Yup, he has a death wish all right.  Damnit, I did not want to sort out anything like this tonight.

I keep a glare trained on Kaiba as he takes back the bottle from me with one of his own, tracking me around the table as I move to sit down in front of him.  I turn the metal chair around so that I'm sat on it backwards, making a clear and symbolic barrier between us.  I want it known that I do not care about him and that I don't really give a shit about whatever's caused this.  I just don't want him throwing up on me or wrecking this night for Yami.

"What is your fucking problem?" I demand, folding my arms on the back of the chair and intensifying my glare.  It turns incredulous when he takes another sip from his glass.  I'm tempted to knock it out of his hands or just take it away from him but I decide against it.  For now at least.

"You don't care," he spits back at me with a curled lip before he looks off to the side and back down at the stage, the glare slipping away.  Another sip of bourbon.

"You're right.  I don't care.  I just want to know if you're up here screwing over your liver and wiping out brain cells over some stupid merger, or if you do indeed have a legit reason for excessively drinking bourbon.  I mean *bourbon*.  That's low, even for me."  

It's true.  Bourbon is both disgusting and strong, but it's very effective at getting you utterly hammered in a short space of time and it's relatively cheap.  Actually it's very similar to that bottle of vodka I got imported from a very obscure country that I can't pronounce.  It was the scum of the earth but I don't remember anything else from that night other than the taste.  Just what I wanted at the time.

He sneers at me.  I can feel my tether shorten dramatically.  "It's nothing to do with my company."

Right then.  That means that it's something to do with Duel Monsters, Mokuba or an actual feeling.  And I've listed that in order of likelihood.  None of these reasons actually interest me aside from the last and it'll be a snowy day in Hades before Kaiba's drinking over an infatuation.  

A gong is struck below me, the resounding sound cutting through the music and the noise of the crowd, quieting everything down in anticipation.  There's a rush for the stage, and by rush I mean that everyone squeezes forward a few inches because that's all the room there is to move.  That's my cue to leave.  Yami's up first and I'm not going to miss this over *Kaiba*.

Standing, I reach forward and grab the bottle off the table and the nearly empty glass out of Kaiba's hand and take them with me to the edge of the balcony.  Putting both on the floor between my boots, I lean onto the railing between a scattering of men.  Kaiba wouldn't dare try to take them back, and even if he did he'd fail.  The barman won't serve him now and he wasn't slurring *too* heavily so I'm not going to worry about him too much.  

Finally the lights go down, the only illumination being a faint and smoky white light emanating from the edges of the stage itself.  The intro starts up and I recognise it within seconds.  I've got to hand it to them; damn good choice of music.  There's a gentle, excited chatter among the crowd as Alice Cooper's 'Poison' bounces up a few notches on the speakers.

Three figures stalk out onto the stage, silhouetted and with a rehearsed cockiness in their step.  I can pick Yami out easily and in this light, he almost looks naked.  That is save for the heavy boots he's wearing.  All he needs now is a whip and he'd be the stereotypical Dominatrix.

"Your cruel device,   
Your blood like ice,

One look could kill,

My pain, your thrill."

  
Never before have I appreciated how effective one voice in darkness is, and Yami's deep voice is both arousing and commanding and it thrums through the air.  He hasn't bothered trying to put the original slur on the lyrics and it sounds all the better for it.

I left when Yami had finished putting his costume on so I haven't seen his makeup yet and I find myself gaping when the lights finally explode into light.  Everyone is blinded for a few seconds, and then it's all good.  

"I want to love you, but I'd better not touch,  
I want to hold you but my senses tell me to stop,  
I want to kiss you but I want it too much,  
I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison."

Yami's eyes, a rich crimson that's practically sparkling with all the flashing lights, are lined with black and streaks of red and silver.  The colours lick up almost to his brows and across his temples to his hairline.  Black lipstick makes him appear even more gothic than usual, but my biggest surprise is how much his hair is changed.  The majority is tied back into a leather strap at the base of his skull, which I always figured would make him look feminine.  But with the amount of gel and spray on his fringe he looks anything but.  I quite like this new look.

"You're poison running through my veins,

You're poison, I don't want to break these chains."

The two backing dancers, Stu and the new guy with the 'high arse' aren't done up quite so dramatically, but they still look damn effective.  All three of them look like they're doused in oil; something that I've noted is something of a theme at Theo.  My gaze returns to Yami though, his sinuous movements unobstructed as the microphone is wireless and discretely clipped over his ear.  As I stare I see his eyes click onto me unblinkingly, his head bowing which makes his gaze that much darker and alluring.

"Your mouth, so hot,

Your web, I'm caught,  
Your skin, so wet,  
Black lace on sweat."

He'd better not have any more to do this evening, the next hour in particular.

He looks away and turns his attention back to the crowd who seem to love it.  Stalking with a confidence only a ruler could posses to the edge of the stage, he gets down on one knee as if enticing them towards him.  It would work too if not for sheer volume and the height of the stage.  I feel the Puzzle warm briefly against my chest before going cold again, and I can tell he's just made his eyes glow for a brief second.  Cheeky sod.

  
"I hear you calling and it's needles and pins,  
I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name.  
Don't want to touch you but you're under my skin, 

I want to kiss you but your lips are venomous poison."

Oh, even the lyrics are sending delightful shivers through me.  I'm starting to think that Yami chose this song himself.  If not, I'm going to find whoever did pick it for him and shake their hand.  I clench and relax my hands about the rail once, glancing about for a quick route down for once the song is over.  My eyes have just returned to the stage to watch Yami continue to rile up the crowd when both Items suddenly seem to catch fire against my chest.

I shield Yami from his own Item and clamp down on the bond instantly, biting my lower lip hard to keep from crying out, but I see him miss a step before he recovered.  He glances up at me still singing looking concerned.  I force a reassuring smile and he nods a little, getting straight back into it and facing the crowd again.

"You're poison running through my veins,  
You're poison, I don't want to break these chains."

  
The Items no longer burn but they're taking a while to 'cool', even if they never heated up in the first place.  They both detected something powerful and went absolutely berserk because of it.  Looking around I can't see anything that would have caused it, nor can I really fathom what I would look for that could.  Closing my eyes for a second and reaching out my senses doesn't accomplish anything.  Yami's still singing and I can't see anything that would suggest that he can sense that something's wrong…

Oh, I see.  Damn, Zel did a lot more damage than I thought.  I'm going to bet that that was a magical tremor, an aftershock of the huge amount of power that went back and forth and generally exploded when I destroyed him.  I used the Ring and we were connected to the Puzzle at the time.  Not to mention the fact that both Items are pretty much hanging over the scar he gave me…  Yami must have picked up on it through the bond, hence him not actually experiencing any pain.  This had better be the only one.  If Yami found out what it is…  I couldn't tell him.  I've sworn never to.

Rubbing beneath the invisible Items to work out the stinging sensation left on my skin, I glance back at the table where I left Kaiba.  Unsurprisingly, he's still sat there.  Surprisingly, Joey's joined him.  They're both drinking some clear liquid out of half pint glasses, and for Kaiba's sake I hope it's water.

I dimly hear Yami's voice stopping and the crowd making a racket through my headache.  He's making his way out to the back of the stage with Stu and the other guy.  He'll have a better chance of getting through to Kaiba than I.  Gritting my teeth and mentally bracing myself, I gradually open the bond a little more.

/Love, I need you to come up to the second floor.  Kaiba's hammered and I don't think Joey's presence is going to be helping the situation/ Ow, damnit!  Stupid bond…  My skull feels like it's been cleaved open.

Fortunately, the reply isn't going to hurt as much.  /Can you give me a minute to change, or is it serious?/

/Serious.  Just get up here/

/Okay, I'll come up the back way.  And I want to know what that was a minute ago.  It came from you./

I clench my eyes as well as my jaw shut now, turning on the spot so that I'm facing the table when I open them again.  /Just trying to sort out a physical problem your number raised.  It didn't work too good/

A mental laugh.  I hate lying to him so damn much.  /Okay, just as long as nothing's wrong.  I'll be there in two minutes/

The side of my mouth pulls in a grimace as I walk back to the table, but I compose myself before I reach it, standing over Joey with my arms crossed and raising a brow.  "That had better be water, Wheeler," I growl out, glancing at Kaiba who looks *quite* inebriated.

The Pup opens his mouth and blinks in confusion, seemingly not realising what I'm getting at.  Fine, we're all consenting adults and over the legal age for alcohol, so I'm not ragging him about that, nor would I bother.  It doesn't seem to have gotten through his thick skull just how hammered Kaiba is though.

Another song starts up behind me, 'Addicted to Love' I think.  I don't bother looking at the stage, my gaze fixed solely on Wheeler.  He glances at Kaiba and it seems to click in his fluffy little head.  The idiot's probably been so happy to share the same table with the object of his lusting affections that he hasn't actually noticed that Kaiba's completely gone.  You'd have thought that he'd put two and two together and figured that *that* was the reason he was even able to share a table with Kaiba.

Yami and Stu appear from out of the stairwell and come to the table.  Joey eyes them both, particularly Yami, and if this wasn't such a bad time I'd have to laugh at his expression as he regarded the Game King.  They both take one look at Kaiba and the three of us share a silent exchange.  Yami comes around to Kaiba's other side and Stu claps a hand on his shoulder.

"Alright mate?  We're just gonna take you round back for a bit, okay?  Get some coffee in ya and a bit of water.  Your friend can come too, no worries.  Come on now."

That's strange.  I've never had anyone say something like that to me.  If I've had too much like this I tend to just get left alone or dumped outside in a taxi.  I look to Yami with my question as Joey helps Stu get Kaiba to his feet and lead him back into the stairwell.  

/I asked him to if it was as bad as you said as we were coming up.  Kaiba's got a reputation to maintain and he's not a frequent drinker.  He could do some serious damage to himself/

Something flares in my chest and this time it isn't connected to the Items.  /You're fussing over *his* reputation after *that*/ Where in the Hell did that come from?  Stupid mouth.  I dimly realise that I pointed down to the stage as I 'spoke' as well, just to add insult to injury.

Yami eyes harden and with all that makeup around that doesn't look good.  Outright scary actually.  

/I am not a slut, so don't you dare consider me one.  Given the fact that I don't legally *exist*, this is the best I can do for money.  I've got friends here and I'm good at it, but it goes no further than that.  And even if it did I wouldn't give a damn about what you thought I was doing to my 'reputation'/

The mental words are clipped and practically spat at me set on fire.  I take them in, knowing I deserved that.  He turns away from me to follow the others into the stairwell then, and I wisely let him put some space between us before following myself.

My mouth has a strange relationship with my emotions.  If I feel joy (yes, it does happen), I am usually completely incapable of saying it.  If I feel pissed off like I did just then, with or without reason, my mouth just seems to blurt the first things that'll hurt regardless of what the words actually are.  What I just said then was uncalled for, and I'm ready to admit that.  

/Yami, I'm sorry.  I don't think any less of you for what you do here.  More highly actually.  Hell, my only income is Ryou.  It's just…  Why are you protecting him?/

We're both in the stairwell now, following Stu along the corridor to the left around the wall to the back of the bar on this level.  He's obviously taking Kaiba to a storage room to put him back together into something coherent.  Yami pauses at my words, glancing over his barely-clad shoulder at me.  

/Because Joey cares about him, and that means more to me then whatever you or I feel towards Kaiba/

I nod, my gaze dropping to the space of floor between my shoes.  Metal-tipped boots step into that space moments later and I look up.  Yami's eyes don't hold that steely edge now and he raises a hand to my face, cupping my cheek before running his fingers down my throat, arm and finally taking my hand.  I put some force into my grip on his hand for a second, my lips forming something between a smirk and an actual smile.  And then Yami carries on walking again, tugging me alone behind him.

I don't know what happened there; who apologised to whom and for what at the very end, but I know that it's buried now.  Clean slate.  As Stu would say, 'no worries'.

At a glance, I see that Stu isn't in this decidedly small room but I can hear him through the wall serving at the bar.  I can't see anyone else either actually from the doorway.  I look down.  Oh, there they are.  

Yami practically bolts away from me, dropping to his knees behind Kaiba's head beside Joey and running his hands over the pallid brunette's face and neck.  I can feel a lot of concern leaking back from the bond from him right now.

"What happened?" I demand, making sure to keep a good few feet back from Yami to let him do whatever he can whilst I interrogate Joey.  The blond looks utterly terrified, and I can't say I blame him.  Moneybags isn't looking too hot right now and Yami looks worried.  Joey's crowding them both though, so I reach out and grab his collar, yanking him next to me and putting a hand on his arm to keep him there.  He's in enough shock to not put up a fight.

"I don't know.  He was fine when the other guy left and then he-Christ, I didn't know he'd had so much," he mutters in a scared, confused voice, his sentences coming out broken.  

/It's alcohol poisoning/ Yami bites out mentally, his face the picture of concentration as his hands dance about Kaiba's throat.  He looks up at the door behind me, shouting for Stu to get back in here.  To be honest I don't think we're going to fit too many more people in this little room.

Stu steps inside a few seconds later, takes one look at Kaiba, swears violently and disappears again.  He comes back with a small black bag that he throws to Yami.  "I'll call an ambulance.   You gonna be okay with him?"

"I've got it," Yami assures with a nod, not looking up from the bag he is now rooting through.  Finally producing a small bottle, he looks to me anxiously.  "Pass me the bowl in the corner behind you, love."

I do as I'm told, having a feeling of where this is going.  Joey is still swimming in panic and hasn't got a clue.  "What're you doin' to him Yami?  What's that?"

"Syrup of esapect.  I'm going to try and get as much as I can out of him with it.  Stand back," he replies distractedly, pouring some of the liquid down Kaiba's throat before turning him swiftly onto his side into the recovery position and lifting his head a little.  

I've heard of this stuff before.  Messy but effective.  With the sort of people this place gets I'm not surprised they have a stash of it.  It won't get rid of the problem entirely because a lot of this shit is already going to be in his bloodstream, so that ambulance had better hurry up.  Better not tell Joey that.  It'll definitely help though, and hopefully stop him from going into a coma.

Despite being completely out of it, Kaiba can still retch up a storm.  It takes a few minutes, but eventually we're all pretty sure that his stomach's empty.  He didn't look very happy with the situation, curled up as the stuff worked on his system and groaning right before he emptied it.  Afterwards he just drifted straight off again, his colouring no better off than before.  

And it looks set to get worse.  Damn.  Apparently I caught the warning twitch in Kaiba's hands before Yami did because he's not moving, merely holding Kaiba and waiting for the paramedics to arrive.

/He's in shock.  He's gonna go/ I warn, not knowing what else to do.  I don't think there's anything I can do.  Yami's told me stories over the last few months so I know he's got some knowledge and experience with this sort of thing, and he should be able to handle this alright, but I'm feeling pretty useless right now.  So's Joey by the looks of it.  For now I'll help by keeping Joey out of the way and letting Yami handle this.

/Keep back.  Don't touch him/ Yami snaps, his eyes widening as he glances up and down the lank form once more.

The seizure starts seconds after Kaiba's hands start to go, and it isn't pretty.  His head snaps back first, his back arching and his entire body going rigid.  Yami instantly throws his weight onto him to stop him hurting himself and I occupy myself with keeping the unrequited lover away.  I really think that we should be helping Yami hold Kaiba down but he said not to touch him so I'll do as I'm told.

I grab Joey immediately and have to resist the urge to punch him back as he tries to escape.  Sending my fist into his gut to wind him when he really starts getting hysterical knocks him back to reality and he stays by my side then.  

Yami looks terrified and I can feel that he has absolutely no idea of what to do now.  He's never seen it get this serious before.  Shit.  Where the hell is that ambulance?  He's starting to panic now and that's not going to help anybody.  He's the only one here who has had any experience with this, and if he loses his head now Kaiba's screwed.

/Calm down, love.  Think.  You can't panic/ I instruct in an unbelievably calm voice, not quite knowing how I got that tone myself.  I see him compose himself within a second and he take a few deep breaths, holding Kaiba's head still as his body jerks violently against him.  That's right, think about it.  Puzzle it out.  I'm not helping you, no matter how much I want to.  

Yami shakes his head with a pained grimace as the seizure continues with no sign of letting up, looking up to me as he speaks to me privately, urgently. /You don't understand Bakura!  They never last this long!  And the longer it lasts, the less chance there is of him waking up at all…/

He pauses and blinks suddenly, looking down at the larger body in his arms.  Apparently making some sort of decision, he releases Kaiba's jaw and puts one hand on the nape of his neck and closes his eyes.  Why…  No.  No, he wouldn't dare.

I obviously growl out his name without realizing because Joey gives me a strange look.  I couldn't care less about his clarity of the situation; Yami's just gone and handed me something *else* to worry about.  This is not turning out be a good day.

Releasing Joey and darting around so that I'm knelt behind Yami, I check through our bond to see if I can still stop him.  I'm too late; he's already started.  It's something that he's never personally tried before, but he knows how to do it from me and I'm making a mental note now to kick myself when this is over for teaching it him.  

Whilst Yami was recovering from the Zel, incident, his lungs kept going into spasm every couple of hours.  It was just the side-effect induced by me tearing another essence out of him; it messed up his head a little and caused his mind to send his body somewhat wacky signals.  I couldn't let him cough because that would have just resulted in him bleeding internally again, so after trying a few things I finally managed to intercept the signals from his mind and take them on myself.  Ergo, they never reached his lungs and he didn't cough.

I'm still not sure how I did it, but it was hard and I had to have close contact to a bunch of nerves to 'plug in'.  Once the signal was redirected however, it had an impact on me.  And that's what worries me now.  Me coughing for a few minutes is quite different from a seizure, and Yami's gone straight for the central nervous system to get these signals so I'm pretty sure he's going to succeed in taking this on.

I'm right.  It only takes seconds and then I see his shoulders turn stiff, his spine twisting uncomfortably as his abdominal and back muscles clench at the same time.  I wrap an arm around his waist and pull him back against me.  Dragging him back a few inches away from Kaiba, I put hand on his forehead so that his skull is clasped to my chest as his eyes are forced to roll back.  The skin that he's against begins to burn, and I distractedly realise that he's right on the scar Zel gave me.  

Kaiba's completely still now and Yami's taking the brunt of it.  It won't kill him; additional factors that Kaiba had would be necessary to accomplish that feat.  But it's still not nice.  I can sense a lot of fear and 'what the hell did I do that for?' down the bond along with confusion and 'static', and I do my best to sooth him whilst holding him as steady as I can.

Joey's now kneeling on the floor with Kaiba's upper body in his arms, staring at Yami looking very worried and utterly dumbfounded.  Yeah, I didn't think he'd do that either, especially for Kaiba.  Okay, he might have died if he hadn't, but this is a fairly high price.

The seizure seems to take an eternity to taper off and finally stop, when it's actually closer to a minute.  Yami sags against me with a sigh, closing his eyes now that he can and taking a few moments to recover from that.

/You've got to stop doing this to me.  You okay?/

/Fine, but I don't plan on doing that again any time soon.  Kaiba?/ he asks blearily, finally opening his eyes and slowly sitting up.  He cricks his neck and clenches his hands a few times as he looks down at Kaiba and I can feel him willing his body to go back to feeling normal.

Kaiba's breathing has evened out and he doesn't look like death warmed up anymore, so it's just a case of keeping him lying down and drinking plenty now.

"I think that did it.  As long as he doesn't go back into shock and we get plenty of water down his neck, he should be fine.  You aren't doing that again though, got it?" I state firmly, prodding Yami in the chest with a finger with the utmost seriousness.  He smiles back at me indulgingly but nods so I don't need to say anything else.  

I turn to see Joey watching us both with wide eyes, his hands still on Kaiba.  He's obviously feeling very confused as well as moronic right now.  Actually, I'm going to gamble that he has absolutely no clue of what just happened. 

Ah yes.  He doesn't know about half the stuff we can do since the bond evolved.  It hasn't just connected us; it's made us more aware of our capabilities, as well as our limits I hasten to add.  The day we tried to make fire is one I will never forget or attempt to repeat.  

Aside from Ryou and Yugi, no one really knows about the bond either.  I can't even fathom the excuses they must have come up for one of us suddenly blurting something that makes no sense but the other understands perfectly in context.  Oh well.  I live to torment, and confusion is another -more subtle- form of torment.

"I took the impact that going into shock was having on his body into mine.  He should be alright now."  Joey's eyes just get rounder.  "It's not something I want to try again, but we're both fine now.  It worked."  Still nothing.

"What the Hell are you staring at, Mongrel?" I shout finally, pretty pissed off with the fact that Yami just worked some pretty tough magic and he hasn't even gotten a word let alone a 'thanks' out of Joey.  The blond's just staring back at my lover.  Oh fine, if he's so interesting I guess I'll have to look to.

Oh shite.

Half covered by black-smeared eyelids, Yami's eyes are now glowing a very disturbing green colour.  It's a colour I've only seen in one person before.  It turns my blood cold and I do the first thing that comes into my mind in response.  I clip Yami around the back of the head.

The green light blinks out like I've hit a switch and Yami's head snaps to the side to glare at me, a hand going to his head in irritation and surprise.  His eyes are blood red.  "What was that for?"

I open my mouth soundlessly just as the door opens and a pair of paramedics squeeze inside, forcefully ushering us out into the stairwell before the heft Kaiba onto the stretcher.  Joey stays right by his side, following him out and back down the stairs again a few moments later.  Yami's still waiting for an answer from me.

I knew this day would come.  I hoped it wouldn't, damnit I hoped, but I can't get out of it now.  I don't know what's going on, I can only guess, and if I'm going to remove Zel once and for all I'm going to need Yami's cooperation, and so he's going to need to know.

Taking a steadying breath, I put a hand to his face and I see his alarm at the feelings radiating down through the bond from me.  I watch him search me for an answer and it's obvious that the one I give him does not satisfy him.

"We need to talk.  Get your stuff.  We're going home."

*****

Yes, a bit of a 'dun-dun DUN' ending there, and believe me I didn't intend for it to work out like that!  Really!  Next chapter up when I know exactly what I'm going to put in it, but for now be nice and leave a review to tell me what you thought.  Thanks!


	14. Videotape

Well, isn't this just a dandy surprise?  This chapter had been 'wrong' for days but it finally clicked last night as to how to change it and then it just carried on from there.  Should have been doing an essay at the time (when shouldn't I be?) but I enjoy reviews more than good marks oddly enough, so I've polished this off and posted it.  Before I said I would no less.  Aren't I nice?  Only going to do a few direct reviewer responses because I'm tired and lazy.  It gets the important points across though.  Also less obstruction before the actual chapter itself. 

Right, to Lady Europa, I'd just like to thank you for being observant enough to pick up on the obscurity of what I'd written, and I hope that the addressing it receives in this chapter will clear it up for good.  Ta for pointing it out basically.

A little more Ryou/Yugi detail, Kurama no Miko2003?  Well, this is a Darkshipping fic and I don't have a huge fondness of that relationship, but I'll try and chuck the limelight their way every once and a while.  This will all remain in Bakura's POV though.  And I'm not going to 'ditch' this fic.  This is just my 'relaxing' fic that I add to every now and again without too much pressure.  I don't really know if it'll ever 'finish', but no, I'm not planning on leaving it anytime soon, and certainly not on a cliffhanger.

Yes, Sailor Comet, there is now officially a new story arc.  But this is still not a series.  (Shifty eyes)

Thanks go to Amiasha Ruri for pointing out a gaping hole in the fic where the uploading thingy went wrong.  Tis fixed now for anyone who was wondering what the missing paragraphs were.  And Stu is quite cool, yes.  He's growing on me so he might pop up again in the future.

Ah, good ol' Blue September, who loves Yami-whumping as much as I do.  Yes, the shit's gonna hit the fan for him.  I'm practically skipping with glee over it too.

Impish Pixie, I regards to 'Spawn', it's pretty much dormant at the moment.  But, it has been showing signs of life so there'll probably be a new chapter within the next few weeks.  Pachelbel and I have both been quite busy for the last few months, hence the silence on the co-fic front.

And thanks to everyone else!  And even greater thanks to everyone who left long reviews!  Really perked me up.  Very pleased.  I hope you enjoy this new chapter, and lemme know what you think.

Videotape 

The walk home was awkward to say the least.  I went with Yami to get his bag and let him change his shirt before ushering him out of the back of the building.  If he could dance in those trousers then he can bloody well walk home in them, and the urge to get him home had been growing disconcertingly.  

Maybe I just wanted him away from all these people, like he's dangerous, or maybe I just wanted to get admitting that which I've been deceiving him about for months over and done with as quickly as possible.  

I kind of knew that I'd end up doing this.  Don't misunderstand me; I was convinced that Zel was dead, but I've found that secrets like this tend to end up getting shared for some reason at a later date.  I just hadn't expected to have to explain this one just yet.

Either way, he put up a fight.  Yami was quite intent on changing, or at least getting some of the makeup off.  He gave in though eventually; I think he's still pissed at me for my comment earlier as well as confused and has just resigned himself to me.  Whatever it was ensured that he didn't talk to me all the way home, outside or inside the bond.  That suited me fine; I had needed the time to organize my thoughts and plan how exactly I was going to do this.  It took me until the front door to come up with my first sentence.

The house is dark and empty and I've never been more grateful for that.  Ryou said something about staying over Yugi's tonight and as it's only 10 now I won't have to worry about them walking in.  I'm glad of that; I don't know how long this is going to take, or at least the worst of it.

Not turning on any light as I navigate the bottom floor of the house, I decide that our shared room would be the best place for this discussion.  Reassuring and all that.  Yami follows silently a few feet behind me, his bag still slung over his shoulder as he moves around the furniture and then up the stairs.  

I flick on the light and leave Yami to close the door once we've gotten to the bedroom.  He drops his bag to the floor before facing me with crossed arms, his expression practically screaming 'what now?', which is a damn good question.  Should we be sitting down for this?  Or would that be too normal; too relaxed?  But standing feels tense and impersonal, and we're both tired.  By Ra, this is so fucking stupid.  I haven't even opened my mouth and this is already overcomplicated.  It doesn't bloody matter.  Sod it.  The sooner I start this the sooner it finishes.

"The Puzzle?" Yami suddenly speaks, and at first I think he's prompting me.  Looking up I see that he's extended a hand.  Oh yeah.  I'd forgotten about that.

Lifting the concealing magic off of the Items, I take the Puzzle up from around my neck and hand it back to Yami.  He puts it back on instantly and I see it glow warmly when it drops into its usual place.  If it were sentient I'd say it looked happy, but I think it's just correcting a few things after that seizure earlier.  Then again, if it were sentient I'd also say that it didn't like me much.  I seem to have bad luck stubbing my toes and the like whenever I'm wearing the damn thing.

Puzzle back in its correct place and an interrogating look fixed on his features, Yami tips his head to the side slightly and narrows his eyes at me.  "Now, if you'd like to tell me what exactly that energy surge was earlier, I'd appreciate it.  Because I know what it feels like when you try to suppress things and it isn't like that.  And you might as well explain why you felt the need to thump me for no apparent reason after I helped Kaiba."

Oh yeah, he's pissed off, tired and suspicious.  Not a happy combination.  I sigh a little, but it's from mental fatigue more than physical.  Still, I wish I were sitting down.

"Okay.  I did lie to you about the energy surge.  I didn't do it; it caught me off guard as much as it did you.  It's…" Fuck, why is this so hard?  I trust him, he trusts me, we're in a pretty solid relationship, so where is the 'hey presto!  You can be open and honest unconditionally with each other' lark that's rumoured to be a part of all this?  "It's part of something that I've been hiding from you for a while."

My words do the exact opposite of what I'd intended to be the outcome of this entire conversation: he looks even more confused and a lot more pissed off.  This is going to be tougher than I feared.

"I never told you why you were so sick a few months back, or what I did to cure you at the time.  Well, now's as good a time as any.  It was Zel.  Zel was doing all that to you, and I think it's him that's started things up again tonight."  There.  I said it.  I'm already bracing myself for the impending emotional breakdown that's going to occur.  I don't see it as weakness in Yami; I know exactly how badly Zel fucked him over.  This is going to be a nightmare for him…

I'm completely dumbfounded when Yami shakes his head in confusion and holds up a hand to stop me from saying anything else.  "I'm sorry, 'Zel'?"  

I blink, as that's the best I can manage at the moment.  "You know, short little psycho?  Very well endowed in the magic department?  Annoying as fuck with hair that keeps changing colour?"

Both of Yami's brows have disappeared into his hairline.  He must think that I've lost my mind.  "Bakura, I have no idea what you're talking about."

There's a general fuzziness in my mind for a few moments before it clicks with an astounding amount of obviousness.  Of course Zel wouldn't have been called that back in Egypt, and I doubt he could do half the stuff he did to me back then.  Hell, Yami doesn't even remember his own name from back then, so even if he had been the same Yami still wouldn't remember him.  I'm going to have to try a different tact.

Putting my palms together and bringing my fingers to my nose, I take a second to think about this before approaching Yami.  He doesn't move, and I tentatively take both his hands between my own.  I don't know why exactly; it just feels like something I should do right now.  Maybe it'll help.  He doesn't seem to mind overtly.

"Love, do you remember how all of this, 'us', started?  When I took you into the Shadow Realm?  Spoke to you?  Touched you?"  A nod and I can feel from him that he's sensing that he's not going to like where this is heading.  He still doesn't know what I'm getting at yet though.  "You remember what I told you at the end, my final conclusion?"

Another nod before he freezes completely, his gaze cast down.  Eyes clicking to me for confirmation, he looks away again before prying his hands away from mine and walking around behind me.  I let him have his space.  He doesn't look upset, just shocked.  

On the other side of the room from me now, he brings a shaky hand to his head and touches his temple lightly, massaging it minutely with his fingertips.  "I think you should explain this to me," he murmurs without looking at me.

Yeah, I should.  I sigh and my hands form fists.  "He called himself Zel last time I spoke to him."  Yami's frowns for half a second before his eyes widen crazily.  I ignore it.  "I found him through the Shadow Realm, connected to you."

Shaking his head viciously, Yami's entire body snaps about to face me again.  The bond's hot with his anger, seemingly directed at me.  "That's impossible.  He wasn't in my Soul Room, I would have known."

"Not your Soul Room, love," I soothe before he can get too agitated about this.  Having your assaulter existing in a place as personal as that…  By Ra, I'd have trouble sharing mine with *Yami*.  I take a step towards him but he takes one back, so I flash my palms and stay still.

"He had his own, it was just connected to you.  Zel was stealing energy from you so he could form his own physical body, or take yours, I don't know."

Yami's looking off somewhere to the right and I can see every tendon in his throat and shoulders.  The bond's searing now and it's turned bitter.    

I take a breath, still sorely tempted to go to him.  He won't let me.  "He would have killed you, and I thought that I'd killed him when I went in there."  The last part of my admission was more growled than spoken.  I've got a lot of anger directed towards myself at the moment but I can indulge in some sort of masochist behaviour later for that.  Besides, I think Yami's angry enough at Zel, me and life in general at the moment for both of us.

"This is a lot to take in," Yami say shakily, still not looking at me.  "How long has he been there?  I take it that someone put him there as some sort of weapon?  Malik perhaps..." His expression melts into one of concentration, and I can hear the cogs turning as he compiles a list of his enemies, of which there are many, and which of those would be able to pull something like this off.

I grit my teeth and decide to stop him before he gets too fixated on this idea.  "When the Shadow Realm was sealed away…  He said he got pulled in at the same time you did.  He's always been there; it was only recently that he really started having an impact.  I…  I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

A buzzing starts up in the bond the second those words have sunk in, steadily getting louder and more intense as Yami gets even angrier, his glare at the floor worsening.  It sounds like a swarm of wasps that have had their nest walloped something awful with a cricket bat.  Not a nice sound, and its made worse combined with the heat.  

I let him get angry though.  He has the right to be, and it's best to let him get it out of his system than allow it to bubble away beneath the surface for months.  

Yami doesn't seem to agree.  Before I can realize what he's done, he's opened the door and vanished from the room.  I bolt after him, catching him by the arm at the bottom of the stairs only to get my hand thrown back at me.  He gives me a firm look that almost makes me recoil before walking away from me again towards the front door.

"Where the Hell are you going?" I shout, frustration finally kicking in.

"Out.  Away from you," he bites back, his hand already reaching for the door.  I whack my hand into the wood by his head and press firmly, so he couldn't open it even if he tried.  He glares at me heatedly.  It doesn't take much for me to keep a similar expression off my own face.

"I am not letting you go off gallivanting about like this.  We have to talk," he say firmly, staring into his eyes.  I mentally wince at the backlash I get from the bond.  

"You mean like how we've been talking before?  With you knowing everything and not saying anything to me?  Not this time."  He pulls at the latch and opens the door a good inch before my weight shuts it again.  "Damnit, why are you doing this?"

My eyes narrow without my meaning them to.  "Because I care about you, and he's still there, in your head.  I want to help you."

He snorts to himself and rolls his eyes, his hand tensing to try for the door again.  "You seemed to do a bang-up job of it last time if he's still here, so I'll take care of this myself," he bites out sarcastically, his tone tight and controlled.

I sigh heavily, my eyes closing now for a long second.  "It doesn't work like that, and I did my best.  I tried-"

"You knew he'd been inside me for centuries and you didn't tell me?" Yami snaps at last, finally taking his hand off the door.  His hands drop into fists at his sides as he stares at me with nothing less than fury in his eyes.    

I open my mouth but nothing comes out.  What the Hell could I say to *that*?

"How could you?" he shouts, taking a step towards me so that I'm practically under his boots.  I won't cow down to him though.  I hold my ground and stare back at him steadily, letting some understanding and compassion show in my eyes.  It doesn't do much for him though.

"You of all people know what he did to me, and you say *nothing* when you find out that he has been that close to me for centuries?"  He wants to hit me; I can see that he does.  Shock gets in before he can raise a fist though, all but screaming the words at me allowing them to finally sink in.

The anger drips out of his face and leaves him looking gaunt.  Pale and wide-eyed, he's wearing the one expression that I really can't deal with.  It feels like something's dying a painful death in my chest.  "All these years…"

I close my eyes and reach blindly behind him and take a fistful of his hair, pulling him closer to me as I wrap an arm around his waist.  He doesn't move, his posture still rigid and arms by his sides.  I place a kiss on his forehead before pressing his head into my chest.  He isn't crying, and I wouldn't judge him if he were.  

His mind is ablaze with new information and he's shaking from the force of it.  This is going to take some time for him to absorb, and I have every intention of helping him with it.  It's partially my fault that this is all coming as such a shock; if I had just told him what I knew from the very start he might have coped better.  But there's nothing I can do about that now, just be here.

"It's alright love, I've got you.  I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, and I sure as Hell am going to figure this out.  It'll be alright."  My words are soft and muffled strangely in his hair, and the gentle sound of the resulting tone almost has me putting absolute faith into my words myself.

****

Yami fell asleep about five hours ago.  I'm still wide-awake, still thinking.  I'm tired, but that's just because of the sex after we finally finished talking.  It was comfort sex, neither of us will dispute that, but it was what was needed.  It renewed a few things between us, got Yami's mind away from emotionally destroying thoughts for half an hour and tired him out enough for him to sleep.  We're both adults and have got past the lovelorn notion that sex is strictly an expression of love.  It doesn't have to be; it can be a powerful gesture of reassurance, of comfort.  And that's what we had both needed.

I had told Yami everything I knew about Zel, and I can state that honestly.  He knows as much as I know and when he wakes up, he'll soon know all the theories I've come up with in the last five hours.  We're working as partners in this now; none of this lone ranger shit.  I couldn't destroy Zel on my own last time, which is a clear indication that I'll need Yami's help this time.  It'll also be good therapy for him to have a hand in it.

I think I've got a pretty solid idea of what's happened with Zel, which isn't bad for seven in the morning when my mind is rarely ever working.  When I thought I'd killed him, I distinctly felt him disintegrate.  That is, I felt him divide up into a great many small particles and spread out over a very large area at a rapid pace.  

I took this for his immediate demise, but now I'm thinking that he might have become absorbed somewhere.  I haven't quite gotten so far as to what might have absorbed him as his Soul Room broke down seconds later, but he's definitely still alive.

And still in Yami by the looks of it.  I think he's having a go at taking over Yami's body, which is easier now than if he was trying to do that last time.  Being in many small pieces (yet still connected by magic and whatnot) rather than one big one means that he can permeate Yami's entire being at once.  He can force control, but it's obviously very unstable.  Physical shock can knock control back to Yami, who doesn't seem to remember afterwards that he ever lost control.  Or at least that's my theory based off the one incident of possession that I am aware of.  

But we've decided to just tackle this as it comes.  We've planned to 'scan' the Puzzle this afternoon and then carry on from there.  If that doesn't raise anything, then we'll go into the Shadow Realm and see if a new tunnel has emerged, or if anything is out of the ordinary in general.  

The mattress shifts at my side and the quilt pulls around me.  Yami's sitting up.  I don't open my eyes, listening to the sounds of his breathing and the sheets moving as he gets out of the bed altogether.  I frown, my eyes still closed.  He's never done that.  He's usually curling into me with force to wake me up, or bidding me a good morning.  He never just gets up and walks away.

I can excuse that though; after last night, I'm willing to forgive anything and everything he does over the subsequent few days.  He was thoroughly pissed at me last night and I have no assumptions that that evaporating completely in one night.  The way he moved though has raised my guard.  

I could feel through the bedding that his motions were too jerky for him, even at this hour and with an ache.  He also put both feet on the floor to stand at the same time, and I know for a fact that he always steps out of bed.  

The bond's also not woken up.  It fizzles to practically nothing during sleep and so I didn't notice its existence whilst Yami slumbered, but it should be bursting back into life now that we're both awake.  But it's still full of static.  Something's very wrong.

My eyes finally snapping open, I jerk upright and look about myself.  Yami's not in the room.  This is strange, and not in a good 'Dr. Who' kind of way.  If I had spideysense, it would surely be tingling right now.  As it is the Ring's picking up something it doesn't like, humming at me and glowing from its place on the nightstand.  

I put it on as I get up, dragging away and wrapping a sheet securely about my waist as I walk towards the door.  I don't usually bother with this; I'm not modest by any means.  I just don't know if Ryou's in the house at the moment.  It's not really him that I'm wearing the sheet for; we're both pretty much the same physically.  It's just that I don't know if he's brought Yugi back home with him and I just know that my Hikari wouldn't appreciate me walking around when Yugi's here wearing nothing but the Ring. 

Stepping out into the hallway, I look up and down it but see no sign of Yami.  Damnit, where did he go?  Both Hikaris might be in the house and if Zel's in control again…  The sheet trailing behind me, I stride towards the stairs and descend them rapidly.  Glancing into the kitchen, I finally find him.

The table and chairs are between us but I can tell he's completely nude.  That doesn't bother me in the slightest.  What does bother me is the fact that he's stood right next to the fridge, his face so close to the plastic surface that his temple is practically touching it, looking at one of the photos stuck there with.  It's a group shot of Yami, Ryou, Yugi and me, and his blazing green eyes are staring at it with great interest.

"Such a happy group.  Snowdrops and firelights," he murmurs, his voice the same but the tone setting my teeth on edge.  Eyes drifting in my direction, his open mouth tugs into a smirk and he steps away from the fridge.  "So long since Zel was with a group.  Is it pleasurable still?"

My jaw tightens impossibly and I feel one of my teeth crack.  I swallow the chip without a second thought, watching my possessed lover step towards the table with alien eyes.  

/Yami?  Is everything okay?/

Damn, Ryou…  'Yami' tips his head back in mild alarm, his eyes widening as he looks at me down the length of his nose.  

Stay up there, Ryou.

/Yugi's really worried.  What's going on?  Never mind, we're coming down/

"Yes, Ryou, please come down."  I swear to Ra, if he so much as thinks it…

If you value your lives you will stay where you are

"Aw, Snowdrop won't share his friends."  The acid green eyes narrow as his head dips, his voice dropping to a violent hiss.  "Greedy Snowdrop."

I've had enough.  'Yami' doesn't do anything as I round the table and grab his shoulders.  Incensed, I slam him back into the fridge as hard as I can before punching him in the face.  His skull snaps back into the fridge with a resounding crack, his eyes rolling before his whole body goes limp and he drops to the floor.  Whoops.

Kneeling and taking hold of Yami's face, I can't decide if I've knocked him out or if its Zel's temporary departure that has left his unconscious.  Checking under his eyelids I can see that the green glow has gone, so at least one thing's gone right this morning.

"Yami?  Bakura, what have you done?" Yugi's increasingly alarmed voice suddenly appears behind me, and I can hear Ryou's rapid intake of breath.  Aw, fuck.  

"It's not what it looks like," I say quickly, gathering Yami against my chest with one arm and wrapping us both in the sheet with the other.  I can at least preserve his dignity, even if he is out of it.   

"Why'd you hit him?" Ryou demands in an uncharacteristically strong tone.  Must be feeling all protective on Yugi's behalf.  How sweet.

"He's wasted and he was pissing me off.  That was the only way to shut him up," I bite out, figuring that me going back to my old psychotically abusive self was a better answer than Yami being possessed by an insane rapist.  There is a sting though as I feel the dismayed shock flare off of Ryou.  Looking at him as I stand with Yami in my arms, I can see that Yugi doesn't know what to do.

Walking past them both without a glance, I carry my lover back up into the bedroom and slam the door shut behind me with my foot.  I Distantly feel Ryou quietly close the link between us.

Laying Yami down on the bed and throwing the obstructing sheet aside, I take a seat next to him and gently brush back part of his fringe.  Wow, that's going to be a good bruise.  It's the same Goddamn place where I kicked him a few months ago too.  Sodding irony.

Crimson eyes open blearily a few seconds later, and I put a hand silently on his shoulder as I wait for him to get his bearings back.  Yami looks about himself once before groaning and putting a hand to his face, gingerly touching the blossoming discolouration around his eye.  

/What happened?/ he asks groggily after a few moments, closing his eyes again.

I exhale heavily.  /Zel/  

That's all it takes.  His eyes snap open instantly and he bolts upright in blind fear.  He meets my cool gaze with a panicked one.  "I didn't…  Did he hurt anyone?"

I shake my head.  "No, love.  He didn't.  You came out of it when I hit you so Yugi and your Hikari think that you're in an abusive relationship now, but everyone's okay.  Do you remember anything?"

"No, nothing."  He's shaking.  Ra, this is going to get so much worse before it gets better.

I bring a hand up to his face, tracing it about his check and then up through his hair.  I can't think of anything else to do to comfort him.  He leans into my hand, closing his eyes with a dismayed sigh.  "What are we going to do?"

Part of me takes pleasure in the fact that he's going to let me help him, but the majority of me just breaks a bit more at the tone in his voice.  Quirking a brow, I realize that I don't really know what to do.  Hunt Zel down, yes, but that may not remove the danger for days.  I don't really want to lock Yami up for risk of possession…  "I guess I'll be hitting you a lot, at least until we get this all sorted out."

He 'hmm's with a nod, opening his eyes and looking up at me.  "That's not fair on you."

A shrug.  "Why?  What everyone else thinks of me doesn't matter, so that's not an issue."  He still looks uncertain.  "I don't want to have to hit you, but I don't want him in control so I'll have to.  There's not really anything else we can do until we know more."

Yami sits back, his hands going into his lap as he stares off at some point on the wall ahead of him, shaking his head despairingly.  "It took weeks for them all to accept our relationship.  If he takes control when I'm around them, you'd have to do something.  He's dangerous.  But then we'd be back at square one with them again."

I slide the hand that has been caressing him around his shoulders and pull him against my chest, tipping my head down to look him in the eye seriously.  "Is that the main issue though?"

A pause as Yami reviews himself before his gaze drops.  "No."

"No.  They'll deal with it, and if they respect you at all they'll offer their support.  They won't shun you.  Hell, they'll all be up in arms to keep you safe, and then it'll just be like old times, although without me getting stuck in a cupboard with Wheeler.  This won't be permanent, and we'll still have each other at the end of it, and then we can just rebuild relations with the motley crew."  I consider that a moment.  "Or we could just tell them what's going on.  The Hikaris at least."

Yami's answer nearly overlaps my words with the speed he speaks, and he pulls away to jab a finger at me.  "No, I don't want anyone knowing about this.  It would just scare Yugi, and he doesn't even know how this all, started.  Just us if it can be helped."

"Alright, just us then.  We'll check out the Puzzle later and take it from there.  I think you'll need to arrange to live over her for a bit though.  Although that might be tough considering the little display a few minutes ago downstairs," I trail off thoughtfully.  I might have to do some experiments with how to stun Zel out of control.  

I don't know yet if it's pain or shock that makes him loose control, and there's only so much that I'm willing to do to Yami either way.  If it's shock, I'll start carrying around paper bags and treat him like an aggressive form of the hiccups.  If it's pain that does it…   I'll think of something.  I'm only willing to inflict so many bruises, but I've got a lot of experience so an alternative wouldn't be hard to come up with.

"What little display?"

"I think Yugi saw me deck you, or he came in just right after."

"Ah."  A pause.  "That does make things difficult."

"It does, but we'll get round it.  Hell, I'll just hang around your house if I have to.  I doubt that the old man will like that though."

There's silence for a few minutes as each of us drifts off into our own thoughts, me scheming and Yami probably wondering how many countries he must have destroyed in the past to possibly deserve all this.  The bond's silent, each of us keeping to ourselves.  That's fine.  I can respect that.  

Yami leant back into my chest at some point and now I'm just supporting his weight, running my fingers across his scalp rhythmically as my mind wanders.  There's not even a warningly loud inhalation of air before he speaks.  It's just out of the blue.

"I love you."

My chest does something funny and I can distinctively feel my voice-box swell up or something.  Wow.  He's never said that before.  Actually, neither have I.  

Tightening my arms around him and dipping my head into his hair, I close my eyes a little.  Sensation is always enhanced if you cut off that sense, and I want to savour the moment.

"Yeah, love you too."

****

(Frowns at last part of chapter.  Shrugs.)  Yeah, I was feeling a bit bad so I thought some fluff would be applicable.  Meh.  Whatever.  As always, reviews are always appreciated.  This saga's going to get quite dark again but I'll do my best to keep the sarcasm coming.  Don't know when the next chapter will be up, but it'll likely be after Christmas.  So, Happy Holidays everyone!!  Thanks for reading so far!


	15. Problematic

Yes, haven't updated in a while.  Have been extremely busy and am set to get busier, so I figured that I should post *something* before all goes quiet.  There's some extra humour in this chapter, mostly due to me going through this thing and forcing it because otherwise it was so damn depressing, and so I hope that's appreciated.  Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.  Complications 

It's been a month now since Yami was first 'possessed' by Zel and the situation hasn't really improved.  It turned out that it was pain rather than shock that stuns the creature back to wherever it is he's hiding, and he's slowly becoming more resilient to it.  That wasn't quite what I was hoping to find out, but at least there is a way to control this at the moment.

Neither of us particularly like it, but it's better that I thump Yami a little harder each time when Zel takes control than to let him run riot.  It didn't quite work last time and I ended up having to throw a knife at him, the blade nicking his arm and kicking Zel back out.  I didn't like myself after that, but I learnt pretty quickly that it was a better option than letting him keep control when Zel tried to make a run for it, into the city.  I nearly had a coronary catching and downing him.  Yami doesn't stray far from me now.

There's not a lot he can do about all of this, and he hates that even more than I do.  He hates being powerless.  No, scratch that.  He *loathes* it.  He doesn't even know that Zel's taken charge until I knock him back to his senses, just like Ryou when I used to have to possess his body to have any sort of life.  Ra knows how he coped with it…

We've scoured the Puzzle, the bond, his mind and a good portion of the Shadow Realm for the little bastard to no avail.  Zel pops up at least every other day and for a little longer each time, even though it's only been a minute at its longest.  Both of us are exhausted, both from trying to handle all of this as best we can and from dealing with two very interfering Hikaris.

Yugi was very much against Yami moving in with me.  I have no idea what Yami finally said to convince him to let go of his arm as it was through their bond, but it worked.  Yugi's still over at the house a lot, keeping an eye on us both.  He doesn't trust me and he's tried to confront me about it more than once, but since I'm always with Yami now he hasn't had much of an opportunity.

Ryou…  I don't see Ryou as often now.  He's tried talking to me through the link a few times, asking questions and reasoning with me, but with that comes a landslide of guilt that I don't need nor want, so I've been cutting him off to the point where he's stopped trying.  I think he's disappointed, certainly upset, and a bit angry with me.  I don't care though.  Yami's understands my actions and although not entirely pleased with his collection of bruises, is far happier with them than he would be with blood on his hands.

Theo's been difficult, but we've worked around it.  Yami still goes to perform –he refuses to let Zel disrupt his newfound life - and I standby on the first balcony in case I'm needed.  

I spend an hour before his performance 'charging' the Ring.  I've magically rigged both it and the Puzzle so that I can send a fairly strong shock through them, enough to burn Yami if Zel raised his head halfway through a routine.  I haven't had to yet.  I don't particularly want to try either.  We haven't tested it so I don't know how strong the charge will be.  I'm hoping we'll have sorted this all out before we have to find out.

Today we're having the day off.  We've spent part of every day so far hunting him down, formulating theories and plans and arguing.  This is not a healthy relationship, even less so than when it started out.  We both need a break, so I came up with a game we could play to whittle away a few hours and perhaps relax a little.

As of yet, we've spent an hour chucking a juggling ball back and forth across the kitchen.  Non-competitive, easy and not requiring many skills on my part.  Very relaxing.

"Okay," Yami murmurs as he catches the ball again, signalling that he's finally thought of something.  Tossing the ball back to me, he smiles thinly.  "If I hated myself, I'd jump off the tallest building in Domino and catch my eyelid on a nail."

I nod, catching the ball without looking at it and throwing it back just as idly.  "If I hated myself I would…  watch a whole episode of 'Oprah' about women's rights with my eye glued open." 

Throw and catch.  Yami's just going through the motions now, but his mind's distracted.  "I'd shave my entire body."

"Have sex with Joey."

"Sex with my own Hikari," Yami answers with a grimace.

I wince.  "Ditto.  Sex with Anzu."  

Yami shudders involuntarily.  "Wearing schoolgirl uniforms."

"With ribbons in our hair."

"In public."

"With tape over our mouths so that we'd have to swallow our own vomit."  

I pause, my face the picture of disgust.  Glancing down at the ball in my hand, I look up to Yami who is wearing a similar expression.  "I went too far, didn't I?"

He nods.  "Little bit."  

We chuck the ball back and forth for a few minutes in silence.  I'm quite surprised at how calm the atmosphere in here is.  We've both been unwaveringly anxious for days on end, but apparently the fact was that we weren't letting up wasn't helping that.  Doing something as trivial as this is loosening us up a bit.  Good thing too.  I've got so many knots in my back I think I might snap and involuntarily twist into a piece of origami at any moment.

"Is Kaiba alright now?" Yami asks suddenly, breaking me out of my 'wow, this is what life used to be like' reverie.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.  He did nearly die an' all.  Certainly demonstrates my love for him, that does.

"Yeah.  He got out of hospital a while ago.  Joey's keeping tabs on him and the gang are pestering him.  They reckon he's suicidal.  Doesn't surprise me.  Anyone that stuck up must end up hating themselves eventually," I grumble with a shrug.  

Yami nods.  Always the neutral, but he respects his rivals so I wouldn't expect any comments.  "And the Joey/Kaiba situation hasn't changed?"

"Well, if you mean that no one's getting laid and no one's dead, then yeah, nothing's changed," I reply without any real interest.  And I have none.  The only good thing I can see of them either being together or of Joey maintaining this infatuation is that the Mutt will be too distracted to notice me.

I'm not particularly worried about what Yugi and Ryou think about me hitting on Yami, or anyone who might know by now, but Joey…  Well, I've seen him with a baseball bat and I have enough sense to know that when, and I do mean when, he finds out about this, he is not going to hesitate to send it around my head.  He might even know already and has been too distracted with Kaiba to come at me in my sleep.  Hmm.  Note to self: stop sleeping.

"It's a pity," Yami suddenly speaks again, putting the ball down on the side counter.  He doesn't want to play anymore then.  "I think they'd be happy together."

I nod in agreement.  "And the Mutt could leach off a few brain cells from Kaiba.  I'm sure he wouldn't miss them, and it would be charitable."  Heh.  Joey with a brain.  Could be funny in a world-implosion kind of way.

Yami scowls at me disapprovingly.  It's a favoured expression of his when I'm in one of my snarky moods.

"Can we go out somewhere?  I'm getting cabin fever in here," he asks, motioning to the room at large as he speaks.  I can see how he would be feeling a bit caged-up; we haven't left the house since Theo and that was two days ago.

We could both do with a bit of fresh air, actually.  I'm not too happy with the idea of letting him out in the open where I'd have to run a decent distance to catch him if something happened, but I know that it would be a relief for both of us to be around grass.  Not that we're sheep or anything.  Just the calming effect of nature and the wind stealing away tension from tired muscles, and…  Bugger it, I thought I'd killed that off.  If I wrote half this stuff down I'd make a fortune.  Hey…

"Alright.  Lemme get my boots," I say finally, shaking my head a little to get myself back together.  Striding into the hallway, I dig around for my boots and slip them on.  I sense Ryou above me and look up the stairs to see him watching me from down the banister.  

"Just going out," I tell him, slipping my jacket on and walking away.  Wouldn't want him to worry now, would I?  As I head back for the kitchen, I hear him descend the stairs and pick his up own coat.

Yami's waiting for me next to the open door, his hands in his pockets.  I walk out first and he follows, his hand reaching for the door when he pauses.  I don't even look at him.

"Jacket?"  

He doesn't respond but I can feel a degree of embarrassment down the bond.  I wondered how many seconds it would take him to notice the cold and equate that with the sleeveless shirt he's wearing.  

I turn back to face the house, seeing my Hikari approach me with his arms hanging loose at his sides.  Should I go back in there?  Yugi's in the house and I don't know where Yami left his jacket.  What if it takes longer than I thought for him to find it and I'm out here if he turns?  

Cursing myself, I take a step back towards the door but have to stop when I run out of walking room.  Damnit, Ryou! 

He's effectively invaded my personal space before I realised what was happening.  Stupid distracted mind.  Must be getting sloppy…  Huh.  My ego is remaining oddly unwounded.  Could this be the beginning of pride in my Hikari?  That he got this close to me without me noticing, seemingly Hell-bent on gaining my attention and accomplishing that? 

I look at him, see the soft eyes that he is mentally trying to wrangle into a hard glare and the mouth deformed into an imitation of a stern expression.  Nope.  Not pride then.  Mild annoyance perhaps?

"How did Yami get that cut on his arm?" He asks in a forcibly quiet voice, glancing behind himself as if to both check that Yami isn't listening and to remind me of who 'Yami' is.  Ta for that, Ryou.

I'm about to say 'none of your damn business' but his eyes turn weird.  Like he really means to go through with getting an answer and for once he isn't going to back down from me no matter how much I threaten him.  Shite, he's really serious about this.  Yeah, from the appearance we've been giving off anyone would be concerned, but for him to actually get in my face and demand an answer of me is something I hadn't expected.  Maybe Yugi put him up to this.

I won't tell him the truth though.  I said I wouldn't and it would make things too complicated.  So I scramble around for an answer.

Giving a half-shrug, I try to appear as gruff yet honest as possible.  Tough, but quite possibly manageable.  "We were drunk, in bed and there were knives.  Shit happens."

Hmm.  Not bad for fast thinking.  Sadomasochism is something that Ryou expects of me so he'll probably buy it.

He crosses his arms.  I resort to glaring at him.  

"I really thought you cared about him.  I can't believe you'd do this to him, after doing it to me for years.  I don't know what made you stop it with me, but you'd better stop it with him.  He doesn't deserve it and I don't know why he's putting up with you," he bites out angrily, his eyes narrowing, and I can tell that memories of the years of misery I gave him are fuelling this.

Still, who the Hell does he think he is?  I've been with Yami for almost a year now and Ryou knows for a fact I care about him.  I've made it obvious enough in the past.

How can he honestly believe that there isn't even a chance that I'd have a decent reason for hurting Yami like this?  That I enjoy it?  I don't.  I hate it.  I hate having to do it because it'll save people that I don't care about.  I hate that I have to keep saving him from an imprisonment in his own mind.  

I fucking hate it.

"You have no idea Ryou, so stay out of it," I hiss, anger coiling my muscles and bringing a foul taste into my mouth.  This is all hard enough as it is.  Why should I put up with him trying to interfere on top of it?

"No!  You acting like this is putting everyone on edge, not to mention upsetting Yugi.  Yami doesn't-"

Blah, blah, blah.  I'm not listening to this crap.  Where the Hell is Yami?  Surely it doesn't take this long to get a coat.

"-and if you had *any* decency-"

Christ, it's like being married again.  Sod off Ryou, you're blocking my view.  Great.  More rhyming.  Seriously though, Ryou's too close for me to see over his head.  

I take a step back.  Ryou continues his rant as if he hadn't noticed.

"-cannot believe that you'd-"

And then I see him.  Or at least, I see the shell of him.  His mind's vacant again.  Damnit, Ryou shut up.  Walk off in a huff or summut.  Move!

Zel languidly moves up onto the step by the door, rubbing the doorframe slowly and deliberately with one hand whilst leaning his face towards Ryou.  He seems to inhale deeply, green eyes closing with bliss before opening again to immediately stare at me.  A disconcertingly benign smile slides into place.

Shite.  Need to open the link, tell Ryou he needs to go.  Run.

A warning glare stops me before I even try.  I don't want to risk it, not against this psychopath.  Finish yelling at me already Ryou!

"- need to get your head straight before you really hurt him and then-"

Zel inhales my Hikari's scent again, his mouth dropping open hungrily this time.

"-be sorry.  You should just leave him alone because-"

Slender hands that aren't his own reach out to grab silken hair.  Screw secrecy; I won't allow this.

Before Ryou has a chance to look surprised, I shove him violently to the side with one hand mid-dive, my other hand already reaching for Zel's stolen throat.  The force of me landing on him in the hall winds him, but the glow on his eyes remain.

Grabbing his shoulders as I hear Ryou scrambling to his feet, I slam him back down hard only to hear him laugh.  I do it again and the laughter is only punctuated.  Ra, it's like it was last time…

I sense Ryou running at me, making the fatal mistake of glancing in his direction.  Zel seizes the opportunity to free a leg and crack his knee into my groin before squirming away.  I don't register the pain with all the adrenalin, grabbing a handful of hair instead and smashing his face into the floor with as much force as I can muster.

The glow blinks out as rapidly as the body's clutch on consciousness does.  I stare at Yami's prone form for a moment before the agony from Zel's knee catches up with my head.  Ryou chooses this time to manhandle me away from Yami.  Stupid Hikari.

Ryou kneels in front of me in mild shock, his hands on my shoulders preventing me from curling into a ball like I really want to.  At least until I growl at him: then the hands snap back.

He looks down at Yami before back at me.  Good, he's noticed that something's up.  Now maybe he'll stop bitching at me.  *Nothing* is worth that.

"I…  That glow, what was that?" he asks quietly, the cogs in his mind working audibly.  

"Not something I want to explain right now," I practically squeak, still concentrating on getting the pain in my abdomen to go away.  Shite, Zel's never been that violent before.  Must be getting cocky, confident, ergo: more dangerous.

Ryou nods at the edge of my peripheral vision.  He looks back down to Yami for a moment, thinking.  "Will he be okay?"

Yeah, he's gotten used to possession and the like over the past few years.  And he's giving me the benefit of the doubt and letting me explain.  That's nice.  This might go well after all.

Nodding, I open my mouth to speak.  Yami's entire body jerks before I get the chance to make a sound though, a harsh breath as his mind drops back into place vocalizing his shock.  He picks his upper body up, leaning on his forearms as he turns his face to look at us.  I think I cracked his cheekbone, maybe loosened a tooth there too.  I might have to start tying him up at this rate.

Yami takes in me and then Ryou, seemingly putting it together in his own mind.   Closing his eyes tiredly, he lowers his head back to the ground facing away from us. 

****

Yes, the ending just kind of trails off there, I know, but it was the best I could come up with.  The next chapter is going to be very difficult to write so I can't say when that'll be up, but there will be at least two more before I take a break from this never-ending fic.  At some point I should really pick up 'Domination' too…  

Be nice and leave a review!


	16. Veiling

First of all, it's been so long!  I've been *desperate* to finish this arc within the fic, and as such have been very nervous about trying to wind it up.  But it's done now.  It took 13 pages, but it's done.  Yay me! 

Reviewer Responses: …  You know what?  I can't actually be bothered.  Thanks to: Yami White Rain, Renee the Rabid Squirrel, Kurama no Miko2003, Penny Angel of Darkest Dreams, Amiasha Ruri, Impish Pixie, Marron-chan1, TaleneIsMyYami, Saturn Imp, Starlit Hope, Yume Takato and Blue September for reviewing.  Always grateful for feedback, and flattered that you did so.

Got a question asked: why is it so hard for Bakura to tell the Hikaris about Yami?  It isn't.  I'm being awkward.  It's a leftover thing from 'Domination' (that became old hat very quickly, I'll admit) and I was going for tension without much success apparently.  Bakura and Yami are quite private about their relationship, stemmed from the secrecy that was necessary at the very beginning of their relationship.  It's also a dangerous situation and they most likely both underestimate their Hikari's ability to cope with the whole idea.  Yami's also ashamed of the whole 'rape' thing, so he'll be wanting to keep that quiet…  To sum up, I have my reasons.  They don't hold water, but bugger it, it's getting sorted this chapter so no more worries, eh?

Anyway, read on and I hope you like it.  Feedback at the end would be most welcome.  Well, you don't have to wait until the end because there's no rule specifying that, but it'll make it easier.

Veiling 

I've had enough of hitting Yami.  I've had enough of punching and piercing and burning and cracking hard objects across him.  Zel seemed to pick up on my impending defeat over the final few days, his emergences becoming more frequent and violent.  He'd nearly escaped me once, nearly knocked me out more times than I can physically remember and nearly bitten the end of my tongue off.  I think it's quite reasonable for me to have enough of putting up with this.

So I chained the little bastard up.

Part of the basement of the house was converted into something of a dungeon a few months ago, entirely my doing of course.  Ryou left me to my project as I didn't seem to want to put him or any of his friends in it.  I'm sure that he thought that Yami was different story at the time, but to be honest, it's just something that I've wanted to do for a long time.  So when everyone was out and I was bored, I'd carry on building my area of 'dungeon'.  It was a hobby, a labour of love and ultimately a work of art in the end.

The majority of it is stained or torn from the walls now, but the first thing I put in there are still in place.  The shackles are free from the wall by four inches of chain, holding 'Yami's' wrists back close to the floor.  He can kneel and sit against the wall, but it's impossible for him to stand.  he chooses to kneel most of the time, arms pulled completely straight out behind him as he strains towards us.

Zel's been down here three days now and he's a mess.  He's completely cut me off from Yami, something he's thoroughly enjoying mocking me about.  His hair's straggled and flat, sweat and grime weighing it down, and his shirt and trousers are torn.  His bottom lips been split and the fact that he's been biting at it hasn't helped in its healing.  The green glow in his eyes never fades now, even in the dark.  It's inescapable.

I guess I put myself in that position though.  I could have walked away, ignored the possession for a few hours, gotten a few hours sleep in my own bed, but I haven't.  I've been down here as long as Zel has, sitting in a hard wooden chair a little way from him.  I don't know why I'm doing it, why I'm tormenting myself by constantly staring at my lover whilst he is chained up and imprisoned within his own mind.  I shan't move though.

The chains and shackles were magically fortified when I first brought him down here, as are the pins in the wall.  He's not going anywhere.  I think I'm waiting for an opportunity, waiting for Zel's hold to break for a few minutes so I can see Yami again, speak to him.  It's a mercy he's not aware of the possessions.  

It's early in the morning of the third day, or so my biological clock tells me.  Zel's watching me as usual, drumming his fingers incessantly on the stone floor but otherwise silent for once.  Sleep deprivation makes his form a little blurry, and I draw some energy from the Shadow Realm to pick myself up.  It works in a drunken sort of way, the feeling of Dark Magic coursing through me almost enough to make me take more, but I won't.  I need to focus, need to be here.  Need to bloody eat I think, judging from the noises in my stomach, but so does he for that matter.

We tried to get him to eat.  It didn't work out.  Yugi's the one who went for it and the experience frightened him more than he was prepared for.  He knows it isn't Yami chained up down here, not really.  He was saying it aloud when he approached his Dark's shell, but then seeing him act so animalistic, so *insane*…  He doesn't come down here often now.  Stays in the house a lot, but not down here.

I hear the trapdoor open above and behind me, the room suddenly finding illumination somewhere other than Zel's merciless eyes.  My pupils contract painfully at the small difference in light.  I prefer to keep it completely dark down here, likely so that I can't really see him.

Footsteps now, Ryou's, and he appears at my side with a mug and a small plate.  I catch him looking at Zel's faint outline, his breath shuddering at the quiet clicking noise the creature suddenly starts making as he shifts up onto his knees.  I don't like this 'eager' posture of his.  Yami used to do it to mock me, although without the chains.  Usually when he wanted something that I didn't want to give.  Seeing Zel do it is too familiar.

I take the mug from Ryou and gratefully accept the sandwich he's made and brought down, my stomach instantly tightening at the smell of food.  Zel starts a keening cry when he sees it.  

He doesn't talk as much as he used to now.  He's figured out that noises unnerve us more than his words did.  Now that's he's trapped down here, he's got nothing better to do with his time than torment us.  I can understand that.

Ryou's still staring at him, the fingers holding the empty plate tightening at the corner of my vision.  I don't take my eyes off Zel, my voice quiet, smooth and unobtrusive.  "Go back upstairs Ryou."

He nods, breaking out of the trance the inhuman sound Zel's making put him into.  Backing away slowly, I listen as he ascends the stairs and slowly closes the trapdoor, returning the light to how it was.  I can just about make out the mug and sandwich with the light from Zel's face, but it wouldn't matter if I couldn't see them.  As long as I don't put them down I can work by touch.

The cry abruptly stops and the following silence is deafening, unnatural.  I narrow my eyes at him, well aware that he can see me perfectly, and take a bite from the sandwich.  

"Nice?"  

I'm not listening to him.  He speaks poison.  He's yet to get to me and this will be no exception.

"Does it taste good?"

I speak back sometimes.  I find it helps keep me sane.  Gets me frustrated usually, but frustration is good.  Frustration leads to anger and anger makes me focus on him with hatred.  And I plan to keep both eyes on him for as long as it takes, or at least until I can figure out an alternative.  

"It tastes good.  You can have some if you want," I murmur, keeping my voice neutral, emotionless.  It was hard to do that at first, but it rapidly got easier.  When it sunk in that it's not Yami replying, it got easier.

"No, you taste better.  I liked your taste when it flew down little rivulets in my throat.  Warm and rich and deliciously you."

I unintentionally probe the roof of my mouth and am suddenly very aware of the ridge of scarring along the end of my tongue.  His handiwork.  I'm still not sure how it happened.  It was when I first brought him down here.  I had one arm chained down but he somehow managed to get the other one out of the Hikari's grips.  He must have grabbed my head at some stage…  It's blurry.  Unimportant.   

"Warmer than I expected Snow-Drop to be, warmer than *him*."

I can't help but close my eyes at that, my fist tightening around the mug.  Zel starts laughing that low, cackling little laugh of his.  I want him to shut up.  But he never does.  Some part of him is always moving restlessly, and if that isn't loud enough some noise is always escaping his throat.  I'm vaguely surprised I haven't got a tic from the last few days.

"Being inside him again isn't as fun as it was last time."

I've thrown the mug of tea at him before I know I've let go of it.  It shatters somewhere above his head and he starts laughing again, high pitched and heaving.  

Breathing in short bursts, I close my eyes to calm myself and try to block out that awful laugh.  It starts to worm its way into me, unrelenting and maniacal, and I blindly reach behind me for what hangs from the back of the chair.

The Puzzle's smooth, sharp edges are reassuring in my hand, and I discard the sandwich so that I may hold it with both.  It's cold now where before there was always a moderate warmth to be found in it.  I immerse myself in exploring it with my fingers, blocking out the laughter effectively now.  I've long since memorized its surface, every ridge every seam, but it's comforting to do it again.

"Poor Snow–Drop.  The only remnant of his lover: a cold lump of metal.  Shiny like his eyes and blood, but cold.  So very cold.  No body to make it warm, no body to make either of us warm."

Ra, I miss him.  Perhaps…  Perhaps there's a trace of his essence left in here.  It was connected to him even if it isn't now, which I know it's not.  That would be enough to keep me together for another day, enough to keep me from killing Zel and subsequently the body he resides in.

Focussing, I slip my mind inside of it.  I don't intend to be long and Zel's secure.  I can afford this fleeting glimpse.  

Traversing this 'space', I feel very little of him but enough to feel reassured.  I might mention this to Yugi; this is all having a toll on him.  Hell, Ryou's spending more time trying to keep him together than he is with either Zel or me.  

I keep drifting, my mental eyes closed to revel in every minute sensation, until I am practically struck by something.  Apparently I've found a stream of magic, old magic.  Used, discarded, mere memories of old spells and incantations.  But's it's almost linear.  That's very odd.  

Laid out like a trail, it weaves an unbearably faint course through the Puzzle leading to… somewhere.  Curious, I follow it.  It leads me to what feels like a 'tap' to the Shadow Realm.  It's closed, but I could open it easily.  I hadn't expected that.  I was sure that all connections that the Puzzle had to the Shadow Realm were gone with Yami's mind, wherever that is.  I've searched the Shadow Realm for him without luck, and I never came across whatever this leads to in there.

The bigger issue is that if the Puzzle can still access the Shadow Realm, then Yami's body may still be able to.  It'd have a tap at least.  But Zel hasn't even attempted to reach the Shadow Realm; he's barely tested the magical seals of his shackles.  He's been content to stay *here*, in the physical world, chained to a wall underground.  He hasn't tried to escape, not really.

What's he waiting for?  And what does it have to do with the Shadow Realm?  It's all laid out, every access point, but nothing's been touched nor has any attempt to been made.  Something's very wrong here.

Ryou, come down here with Yugi.  My knife's in my boot.  Take it and watch Zel.  If he does *anything*, use it.

But Yami-

But nothing.  Better he die than be trapped like this forever.  I need to check something.  I'll be back soon.

No, you have to stay here.  I can't guard Zel on my own!  Yugi's terrified to come down there, and Yami's more powerful than me.  What if Zel can wield that, fight with it?

My physical body frowns at Ryou's uncharacteristic refusal, but I don't have time to reason with him let alone argue with him.

He would've used it already, now get down here and do as you're damn well told.

I don't give him a chance to respond, plunging through the tap into the Shadow Realm in the Puzzle, intending to follow this breadcrumb trail of old spells.

It doesn't lead anywhere.  The trail began and ended inside the Puzzle, and now I'm stood in an expanse of darkness with nothing to go on.  Extending my senses, I pick up on something to my left.  Something familiar…  Missed…  My knees almost go from the mere touch of it.  Yami…

Snapping my head to face him, I feel every line of tension that had accumulated in my face drain away.  He approaches me as I outright run at him and then…  Ra, I've missed him so damn much.  He somehow led me here through the Puzzle; he reached for me as I did for him.

In a heap on the 'ground', I find myself pulling him against me so tight he would suffocate in the physical.  He's doing the same to me though, and it's indescribable how good it feels.  Moving from his mouth, I kiss his forehead, his neck, his mouth again, all the while touching his face with my hands, assuring myself that he's really here, really with me.

It takes a while to calm down, and when we finally do we don't move apart from each other.  Chest to chest, I run shaking hands up and down his spine, his own hands about my waist.  "Are you all right?" I ask finally, by voice uncertain, hoarse.

"I was scared."  He says it into my chest but hearing it muffled only increases the impact.  I hold him impossibly tighter to me, kissing his forehead again.  

"I know, I've got you.  I'm going to take you out of here.  We'll figure something out."

He nods, nuzzling into my throat as he does so.  "How long have I been here?"

"Three days.  How long did it feel like?"  I regretted asking that immediately, but I ignore it and stand slowly, bringing Yami up with me.  I need to let go of him to walk but I really don't want to.  Not yet, not when I've only just got him back.

"Felt like forever," he murmurs without looking at me, his hands gliding down my back and arms to take my hands.  He separates us in the end and I'm grateful for it, but I maintain a hold on his hand as we finally part and I look around.

The entry point I came in through is behind us, so that would logically dump us both inside the Puzzle.  Yami can tell what I'm thinking and automatically begins to guide us both towards it.   Just as I begin walking though, something brushes at my back, something weak but recognizable.

I twist my neck to look over my shoulder, Yami still walking with me eager to leave this place.  That's odd.  It's a door.  And not just any door; it's the door to my Soul Room.  I sure as Hell didn't put that there…

"Yami, hang on a second," I instruct, not taking my eyes off of the door.  

Yami pauses, looking towards the door as well before stiffening.  "Ignore it, Bakura.  It's a trap, no doubt Zel's doing.  He's toying with us, like he's been toying with me for days."

It doesn't feel like a trap though.  It doesn't even feel like Zel.  I know Zel's magic inside out, and I mean that literally, and I don't know what this is but it's *not* his.   In fact, focussing on it, it feels like… me?

Yami gives my hand an insistent tug, trying to get me walking back to the 'exit', but I'm still too interested in the door.  Releasing his hand, I turn away from him and approach it, reaching it within a minute and tentatively reaching a hand out towards it.  The desire to touch it is overwhelming.  It's *mine* down to the last molecule, but completely out of context.  What trickery is this?

Slender fingers grasp at my wrist when my fingers are centimetres from the surface.  Looking to their owner, I see Yami giving me a hard look.  After a few moments it softens into something almost pleading.  It's a change I've rarely seen in him.  Usually, he'd just demand I stop whatever it was I was doing and stick with that emotion.

"Please don't.  I want to leave.  Take us back, please."

The tone in his voice is unsettling and I'm tempted to heed him, but the door is practically calling to me.  My instincts aren't telling me that it's dangerous and I've done stupider things in the past.  I can't even begin to imagine what this is, and there's only one way to find out…

/Love, I just want to see what it is/

Yami doesn't twitch, shows no acknowledgement that he heard me through our bond.  I wait a few seconds to see if he is composing himself to respond verbally but he remains silent.  His expressions remains exactly the same, his grip around my wrist unwaveringly tight.

I reach through the bond to see what he's feeling and something clenches when I don't reach him.  The bond's been gone for three days and when I saw him again I was too overwhelmed to acknowledge it.  But now, with the thoughts and feelings I'm sending falling into oblivion…  A very big warning bell is clanging off in my head.

I'm not sure who this is anymore, but I do know that he doesn't want me touching the door.  With no other option immediately available, I fall back on one of my old sayings: if in doubt, disobey.   

Not taking my eyes from his, I suddenly jerk my free hand at the door and lay my palm flat against its surface.

Nausea is the first thing to strike me, the world tipping crazily as every sensation I could possibly take in blurs together and seems to smear across the universe.  It settles just as suddenly, and I gasp when the comforting warmth of the bond sears through me before settling about my shoulders, hugging at my back.  Everything's white and I can't decide whether I'm blind or dead.

/Kill him, love.  Kill him and come back to me/

Just how can I trust a disembodied voice when I'm this disorientated?  There's no emotion conveyed, no feeling, but I recognize the voice. I don't dare believe though.  Not when I'm lost and deeply confused.  As loathe as I am to admit it, I feel quite vulnerable right now.

/You said you'd never let anyone hurt me, and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, but you have to trust me.  Please Bakura, kill him/

Even if I did trust the voice, I sure as hell wouldn't be able to do anything it wanted me to.  I'm blind and alone in this white void.  I can't even tell if I'm still standing.  But then…

/Look within.  Quickly, search yourself/

I can't very well search my body, as I can't even see it, so I focus my thoughts in on myself.  I can't sense anything wrong.

/Harder.  Deeper/

If I had a body I'd smirk.

/This is not the time for that, Bakura.  Concentrate/

Well that's confirmed that Yami's talking to me.  I still can't find what he's making me seek though.

/Let me help.  Pay attention/

I don't get a warning before the world I've found myself in turns black with pain and then back again.  I caught a flitter of something though, at the outskirts of my vision.  For some reason I think it was something my eyes did rather than my environment.  

I wonder if this bond is working two-way.

/How exactly do I kill it?  I assume you're talking about Zel here/

/Yes, it's Zel.  He's weak; we've been fighting for days.  You only need to imagine grasping him and killing him.  That's all it will take/

Ah, what the Hell.  Doing as instructed, I imagine the little shadow I caught earlier taking on a solid form, appearing between hands that I do not have and suffocating from a lack of air that does not exist.  My body starts to tingle, the sensation getting worse the longer I do this.  I can feel that it's important that I don't give up though, so I exert more power.

There's a scream, its owner unknown, and then everything goes black again.  I feel like I'm falling, faster and faster, blindly and disorientating before I land.  It's a hard landing, but oblivion welcomes me gently, guiding my mind away with care and subtlety.  

It's like peace.

****

The fact that I'm on a mattress after three days in a chair is the first thing that strikes me as my first foray into the world of the conscious begins.  It's soft and yielding, matching the sheets and blankets that seem to be gathered about my chest.  Everything smells fresh, welcoming.  

Invited by such a pleasant atmosphere, I crack my eyes open a fraction and am pleased to see that the lighting is dim.  I wouldn't have appreciated bright lights right now at all.  Someone murmurs something and a hand pushes my bangs back from my face.  I all but purr at the sensation, smooth skin gently caressing my own.

"Hey beautiful."

There's a smile in the words and I think I manage to smile back.  Everything's a bit woolly at the moment.  I don't even know if this is real, or if what I just wrestled from was…  I think I'll just live in the moment for now: keeps things simple.  George Lucas got at least *that* philosophy right.

He shifts on the edge of the bed so that I can see him, his hand still dancing about my face.  I can't say that the touches annoy me.  On the contrary, they're reassuring.

I open my mouth to speak, to ask what the Hell has been going on.  I hate being out of the loop and judging by how *relieved* Yami appears, I'm betting that I've been out of the loop for quite a while.  He picks up on my thoughts before I can vocalise them, his hand sweeping to my mouth to stop me from speaking.  All right, the fussing just got mildly irritating.  I'm not going to shatter if I speak!

"You've been trapped, love.  Zel imprisoned you in your own mind and bombarded you with illusions to stop you escaping."  A small smile, dry and regretful. "He almost did."

Right, I'm speaking whether or not he gags me.  "How do I know this isn't another illusion?"  Did I really just sound like that?  Never mind, it hurt either way.  I hate it when he's right, sometimes.

He tips his head to the side and his mouth slides into a thin line, considering.  Finally he comes up with something.  "Since we were at Theo, the night that Kaiba collapsed, have you used our bond?"

Damn good question actually.  It takes me a few minutes to mull that over carefully, but I realize that we've only used it very sparingly.  I felt sensation and the odd emotion through it, but the few times there were words they seemed… strained?  It felt 'off', but I was too focussed on Zel to notice actually.  It wasn't like the bond was broken, or at least I don't think it felt like that…  It just felt very underused. 

Finally in answer to his question, I murmur that it wasn't often.  To be honest the realization has my unnerved.  Could what Yami's saying really be true?  Could I have been contained?  If so, that means that Zel…  Oh Ra…

Yami smiles at me soothingly, his hand cupping my check and rubbing the pit of my eye socket with his thumb.  "Zel couldn't duplicate it, couldn't copy what is ours when he was weaker.  That's why he hasn't tried recently."  /So feel it now.  Know that it's real/

Warmth and love and a thousand other things surge together and almost through me.  Gods, is this what was missing?  How could I not…  There aren't words.  Questions, hell yes, but no words for this, having this back.

Letting me relish the feeling, Yami apparently decides to fill me in before I have to trouble myself with asking.  He speak through the bond, much to my immense pleasure.  I'm too busy enjoying his presence like this to respond myself.

"It's been a month since Zel too control.  It was immediately after I took the seizure from Kaiba to the best of my knowledge, and he's been in complete control since.  I've been working against him and managed to weaken him significantly, cutting off everywhere he could run to and making him powerless.  His control over you has been more unstable for the last few days.

/I couldn't destroy him completely though; you had to do that yourself.  If I tried I'd have ended up killing you both.  I managed to mimic your Soul Room and lure your mind into the Shadow Realm to it, hoping that you'd come through it.  The bond was connected again when you touched it, and then it was just a case of you killing Zel until I could have you back.  And you have/

His hand's in mine now, my fingers grasping his loosely as I try to digest all that.  That's an awful lot of information to just *accept*, but with the bond with me now it just all feels right.  He's not lying.  Ironically, I'm 'finally' free having never known I was trapped.  Small mercies.

/You know all about Zel now, then?/

He nods.  Something clenches in my chest.  I should have been here for him.  It's not my fault that I couldn't be- Heck, I thought I *was* there for him.  Oi.  This is going to take a lot of getting used to.

/Yes, he seemed to delight in telling me as much as possible about himself.  There wasn't a lot else for him to do as I had your body tied down after he lashed out the first time.  I didn't know what to…/  He shakes his head, dismissing the feeling, and the mental waver in his voice vanishes.  /I was soon so focussed on getting you back, it didn't really matter what he said.  You're what's important to me now/

/Aw, I feel so loved/

His eyes narrow as he smiles at me.  /You are loved, idiot.  And you also haven't eaten in a very long time.  Shall I get you something?/

I nod, the feeling of my stomach digesting itself suddenly becoming known.  I shift a little to try and settle it.  Ah, my muscles haven't atrophied or anything annoying.  Good.  Taking advantage of that merry discovery, I shift myself back so that I can sit up properly.  Yami wisely doesn't try to help me, well aware of my somewhat tender pride.

/I make some rice.  Back in a bit/ he 'says', reaching out to ruffle my hair a bit.  I watch curiously as he reaches out for a cane that I hadn't noticed before.  It's black and apparently made of wood, and he leans on it heavily as he stands.  I sure as hell hope I didn't do anything to warrant him needing that.

/Something I… He did?/  I'm admittedly nervous about the answer.

Yami twists to look down at me, that reassuring smile back in place.  "No, this wasn't Zel.  He just tried to suffocate me when I tied your body onto the table.  I ended up having to bite your tongue to get away," he says, gesturing vaguely at my head.

Oh yeah, I can feel it.  I hadn't imaged that pain then.  The scar tissue's quite raised, so he obviously had to bite hard.  Hmm.

"No, this," he bites out, gesturing to his right thigh with loathing.  "Is from nothing less than a Katana."

"A long sword?  How bad?"  I know how deadly those things can be.  What the hell was he doing fighting someone wielding a Samurai sword anyway?  Even I'm not that stupid.

"Bad.  Through, actually."

Through?  "Through what?"

"My leg.  Went through the damn bone as well.  Hurt like a bitch."

My eyebrows don't seem to be on my face anymore.  "Explain," I demand in a low voice, already planning on using his attacker's sword on them to turn them into something resembling a lollipop.  

Perching on the edge of the bed, he rubs at what must have been the entry point of the blade with one hand and fingers the end of the cane with the other.  "A group of Yakuza dropped by Theo just after Zel took control of you."

"Yakuza?"  Shite, he's lucky to have gotten out with his leg *attached*.  Fucking with *the* crime syndicate of Japan is not something one does lightly.  

Yami nods at my exclamation, still rubbing at his leg through the material of his trousers.  "The Puzzle's helped a lot; it's not too bad now.  Everyone else is perfectly fine; they stayed out of the way during the attack."

"Trust you to be the one getting hurt.  It should have been completely healed by now with the Puzzle.  Why the cane?"

I know the answer before he answers.  Stupid pillock.  

He looks indignant, like he knows what I'm thinking and is standing by his decision.  "I haven't spared my injury enough energy.  It was more important to get you back."  He raises a hand before I can speak, because we both know I'm going to.  "And now that you're okay, I can get back to straightening out the severed nerves and jagged bone.  Happy?"

Ecstatic.  But I'm still returning to my original query:  What would the Yakuza be doing at Theo?  

I'd have thought they'd be taking their skim from the place already.  Maybe Tony cut them off.  That'd piss them off enough to 'discipline' them I suppose.  Yami'll know, so I figure I should stop speculating now. "What where they doing at Theo?"

Yami smirks wickedly at me.  "Well, it turns out that that *is* your fault."  

Come again?

"When I was… attacked there, it turned out to be by some members of the Yakuza.  The Dons didn't particularly like you incapacitating some of their members.  They found me before they found you though, and once again you attacked one of their numbers and this time you killed them.   That's why there wasn't any fuss made by the police over the body found in the park.  It was easy to tell from all the tattoos he had that he was high ranking.  They followed us to Theo the night Kaiba was there, apparently, and attacked later.  You wouldn't remember."

And I bloody well wish I did.  Sounds like a fantastic scrap, if you ask me.

"What happened?  And I want details: violence appeals to me."

He grins.  Aw, he missed my psychopathic nature.  That's sweet.

"It was over fairly quickly actually.  There were ten of them altogether, and there weren't too many casualties among the dancers and the customers.  I, being completely useless with a sword or any weaponry for that matter, ended up doing more Mind Crushes than I want to think about, and Zel did a lot of damage."

I frown.  "Zel?"

"Mmm. He relished in the bloodlust, and that's what gave him away.  You're controlled when it comes to violence.  He was…  like a wounded animal."  He seems to shiver at the memory and I put a sympathetic hand over his thigh.  I've got more right to be pissed though.  It was *my* body he was dancing around in like a puppet on strings.  Those were meant to be *my* kills, my acts of aggression.  I feel so used…

"Anyway, Theo was wrecked and they've spent the last month rebuilding.  Tony's not interested in it anymore, not now that the Yakuza are interested in their violent little way, so he's passed the reigns onto Stu.  Turns out they're uncle and nephew.  I don't know what Stu intends to do with the place, or the Yakuza for that matter, but he wants me to stick around."

Yeah, I can imagine.  Having someone capable of turning Yakuza members insane or dead would be a useful asset.   "Saw your potential in the protection racket, did he?"

A wry smile, amusement dancing in his eyes.  I don't think he knows whether to be flattered or miffed.  Whatever.  He's going to get paid. 

"He was quite accepting of the whole thing actually, surprisingly so.  He doesn't know anything about you though.  Apparently, people aren't as stupid as we've presumed them to be; they've seen the God Cards in action, noticed the sudden appearance of Mind Slaves a few years ago, the unusual corpses in the morgues.  Stu doesn't understand it but he respects it, and doesn't think I'm insane.  I just told him that I'm a Warlock, which is essentially true.  Far easier than explain 5000 years of history, at least."

Fair enough, but something still isn't quite clicking right here.  "And he's totally accepting of all this?"

Yami shrugs and I can tell that he can't quite believe it either.  "It seems so.  It took some convincing, but he just thinks it's novel."

"I'm still going to want to have a chat with him about you, you know?"

An indulging smile.  It's his favourite one to give me.  I've given up trying to will it away.  "I expected nothing less of you."  He reaches out for my face again, tipping his head as he sighs heavily.  "It's good to have you back."

"Damn good to be back."

"And when you're strengths up, I think we can illustrate such good returns most enjoyably.  Don't you think?"

"Oh, Hell yes."

****

Yes, this chapter is weak, clumsy and staggers into death at the hands of plot-holes more times than I wish to reflect on, but it's done.  I've learned my lesson.  NO MORE STORY ARCS IN 'EXPERIMENT'.  Now I can get back to self-contained-additional-bits-to-add-to-this-multi-faceted-fic.  Goody.

Next chapter, the boys are back at Theo under new ownership…

Review and tell me that you missed me! ;p


	17. Premiere

Right, first off I have to send out a huge thanks to the following for reviewing: BlingBling021, Renee the Rabid Squirrel, Marron-chan1, DaredevilX, Penny: Angel of Darkest Dreams, Blue September, Rhap-chan-Tat-chan, Pachelbel, CharcoalCat, Saturn Imp, Tuulikki, Saphy-chan, Sailor Comet, Starlit Hope, YumeTakato, Kurama no Miko2003 and TaleneIsMyYami.  Seriously guys, this thing wouldn't be half as long as it is without your kind feedback. 

I'm very happy to hear that the twist was unexpected and a surprise, although I am a bit miffed that the gaping plotholes were gaping enough to warrant confusion. So I request that you *please* write questions in a review in detail and I'll see what explanations and excuses I can pull out of the air.  So, it's basically Challenge Borath's Bullshitting Skills time.  Ain't that dandy?

Yup, Zel's a meany, Yami and Bakura rock supremely together and aw… you missed me!  Well, for being so good as to read through 16 'episodes' of this merry jaunt, this one is very long and comes with pictures if requested.  I'll have them scanned shortly so if you want to see the boys in their Theo costumes, just e-mail me and I'll send out copies as soon as possible.  Take note though; my skills at drawing anima characters are crap, I traced the poses and the faces are direct copies from episode pictures.  The costumes at least are my own. ^^

Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.  It's heading out of Angst-Ville into Happy-Town again, so sit back and enjoy the ride!****

Premiere I, Bakura Smith (I'm going to kill Yami.  Stupid forged documents…), and Yami Motou, are now proud owners of *the* gay club on this spit-of-an-island Japan: Theo.  And indeed, we are pleased. 

It turns out that Stu wasn't all that interested in owning the place and just wants to have a good time dancing for the crowd, which is fair enough.  Considering that he's gotten pretty chummy with Yami after he saved his neck (literally) when the Yakuza dropped by, it seemed logical to take on my other half as a partner.  At Tony's insistence, Stu must own Theo, so he's staying around as a silent partner but isn't doing any of the work and only taking a snippet of his wages, sticking with what he earns for dancing.

Yami was too nervous about the prospect of running a club on his own, so he enlisted me as another partner.  So Theo now has three owners, two acknowledged and one silent, and the club's reopening tonight.  Very exciting. 

Stu left the reconstruction to our discretion so we've pretty much redesigned the place, working late into the night to produce charts and projections and general plans of action.  It's been damn hard work, but hopefully it's all going to pay off.  I'm just desperate for tonight to be over with.  If tonight goes well, then the next year should.  If it doesn't, we've worked our arses off for a month for zip.  Well, I got over the whole Zel thing pretty quickly due to a need to focus all my energy on Theo, but we'll still be in a sizable amount of debt if it all goes to Hell.

Presuming it all goes well tonight, the loans will get paid off very quickly and we might even be able to put a deposit on our own flat in a while.  Like I said, very exciting. At the moment Yami and I are sat at the breakfast table, which is covered with paper, going over the fine details for tonight.  We'll have to leave for Theo at around noon to supervise the set-up for tonight, so we've both risen early to get it sorted.  See how organized we are? 

"Right, the band confirmed last night that they'd be there this afternoon to set up the equipment and they'll be gone by tomorrow morning.  If the debut goes well they'll come back in the future, and they might give us a discount," Yami tells me, thumbing through a notepad with a pencil dancing between his lips.  

I'm not sure when he picked up the annoying habit of holding pencils in the corner of his mouth but it's really getting to me.  Better than behind his ear I suppose, which just looks stupid.

Still, I reach for the pencil, thwap him atop the head with it and then give it back.

"Stu's overseen the lights and the artificial smoke which-"

Yami interrupts me instantly without looking up.  "We don't want to use a lot of that."

"Yeah?" 

"Yes, it's a pain when you're trying to sing.  Only put it on when the band's there.  Let them deal with it.  It'll dissolve or something when we come on so we won't need to bother with it."

Feeling bitchy, isn't he?  Heh.  All this inside knowledge.  Such an advantage over when Tony was running the place.  It's all these little things that are going to make a difference.

"Alright, just when the band's on."  I jot that down.  I'd forget it otherwise and Yami would give me his annoying 'I told you so' look halfway through my coughing fit later.  "That suits me fine.  The lead's as thick as two short planks.  She kept stroking my arm despite the fact that she's playing in a *gay* establishment."

Yami raises a correcting finger with a smile.  "Ah, only three nights of the week.  Three nights we're straight and boring, if only for the bills.  And of course she was stroking you:  you're irresistible." 

That's true.  Ah, it's such a curse being this gorgeous.  Hmm.  My narcissistic tendencies are on the rise again.  Better curb those before Yami picks up on them and we get into an argument over who's prettier.  Again.

"What are you guys doing up this early?"

Ah, the Hikaris finally emerge from their love-nest.  Lazy sods.  It's enough to make me sick.

Yami vaguely waves a 'good morning' at the microwave before jotting something down on his pad.  And putting the pencil back in his mouth.  He's doing this to spite me, I swear.   

It doesn't look like he's going to answer Yugi's question though.  "Finalising the agenda for tonight.  Lots to do and not a lot of time to do it in."

Ryou takes a seat beside me and Yugi plops down by Yami, everyone now facing their respective partners.  My Hikari eyes the papers with bemusement, sharing the look with Yugi who matches it.  "I can see that.  So what's the general outline?  Or are we just going to have to wait and find out?"

Hmm.  Going over it from start to finish might dredge up some things we may have missed.  Yami seems to share my thoughts, looking up at me and finally putting down the (damn) pencil, sitting back in the chair and flicking through to the start of his notepad.

"I don't see why not," Yami muses aloud, glancing at our Hikaris sleepily.  He didn't sleep well last night, and I can understand why.  

He owes his Grandfather a fair bit of money that he's determined to make back a.s.a.p, so it's natural for him to want tonight to run perfectly.  Hence him planning out everything through the night, including what colour lights are going to be on at what times.  He'd worry his little head off if I weren't here to distract him, I swear.

"We're essentially working off a host and co-host premise, Bakura and I welcoming everyone back and introducing the band before staying in the crowd and generally making an appearance, meeting and greeting."

I quirk a brow.  "He means that we're going to be keeping a constant eye out for Yakuza with the cover of meeting and greeting.  Don't you love?" 

He sniffs but doesn't give me an answer.  Heh.  Me: 1, Yami: 0.

"We also decided to have a theme to gain a bit more attention, and given the pestering that the crew at the place have been getting, we've certainly got it," he continues, smiling at me as he rubs his face.  He still can't quite believe what I've done.  Mind, I only told him about it two days ago.

Yugi and Ryou look to me when it's obvious that Yami's passing over this particular train of conversation to me.  Understandable since it is technically my story.

"Well, I was bouncing around the Internet doing research, and I found this delightful little site that detailed the history and practice of The Hankie Rules."

I am pleased to see a certain amount of interest around the table, excluding Yami who is doing some sort of pornographic doodle in the corner of a 'predicted profits' sheet.

"It turns out that in America, back in the late 70's, early 80's, a lot of blokes wore coloured handkerchiefs in the back pockets of their jeans to advertise what sort of sex they were into.  It saved some work and time in that you knew if you were on mutual ground with whomever you were propositioning to."

Yami snorts at 'propositioning'.  All right, I know they aren't exactly innocent, but they're still my Hikari and Yugi, so I will consider them naïve for some time yet.  Besides, they look more curious than excited right now.

"It isn't really used now, and the big problem with it was that what colour meant what wasn't set in stone, leading to confusion sometimes.  So, I've taken what was pretty much finalised in San Francisco, and deemed tonight 'Hankie Night'."

I sit back feeling quite pleased with myself.  I'm met with silence…  Well, at least *I* know a good idea when I hit one.  

Yami breaks the silence, looking pointedly at me.  "*He* has been putting piles of fliers promoting all of this all over the city, without telling me I might add."

"And on the back I've printed the rules.  It's up to them to pick their poison."  A smirk.  "I'm sure the sales of handkerchiefs around here have utterly soared thanks to me."

Ryou and Yugi are grinning and Yami's just keeping his wry look, but I think he's a teensy bit proud of me, and certainly grateful.  This promotional stunt is going to help a lot, and if it doesn't, I'll be stunned.  I've been printing these things off from Kaiba.Corp and sticking them in clubs and cinemas for two weeks.  Kaiba was only too willing to help; he does owe Yami his life to a degree.

"So you guys have handkerchiefs already picked out?" Yugi asks with a smirk that is unbefitting next to his large violet eyes.

Yami quirks a brow at his Light.  "I've left all of this to him.  I'm assuming that what you've got is… appropriate?"

I should think so.  Both of us have black, indicating S&M.  It's just a matter of deciding which side to wear it on to denote uke or seme.

"Most appropriate.  Although with our costumes, I don't think we're going to have any available pockets to stick them in."

"You have costumes?"  Okay, Yugi's getting into this all so much now it's creepy.  

Yami nods a bit sheepishly.  "I've been sewing."

"We're going for spectacle tonight so we've pushed the boat for extravagance.  As we're hosting the night, we want to be a bit distinguished."  Understatement of the century.  "How many sequins have you sewn in the last week again?"

That little tic at the corner of Yami's eyes comes back.  It had gone for a whole day too.  Might have to mention the sequins again later…  Ooh, I'm evil.

"Five hundred and thirty six.  And I'm not doing anymore."   

Ryou and Yugi look impressed, sharing a look of consideration before regarding Yami and I in turn.  "It sounds like you've both put a lot of work into tonight."

Yugi nods in agreement before facing Yami, the decidedly more nervous of us both.  "I'm sure everything will go smoothly.  And we'll all be there to support you both."

Yami looks like he's just discovered his favourite cat had died.  "Oh yes, I had forgotten."  I can't believe he still hasn't gotten over being watched dancing by his Hikari.  Yeah, it's like dancing in front of your mum, but *really*.  Yami isn't slutty.  Sure pretends to and knows how to rile up a crowd by doing so, but he's maintained his honour or some bullshit.

"Are Kaiba and Joey coming?" 

Please say 'yes', if only so I can watch his expression.

"Yeah-"

Ha!

"-and so are Anzu, Mai and Honda.  The VIP pass Bakura gave us is unlimited."  I receive a not-so-subtle Death Glare, Grade 2.  I usually only get a Grade 3.  He must be pissed.  

Yami nods, absorbing that merry snippet of information and then filing it away in his head.  It won't take long for him to figure out that I 'hinted' that we could use all the support we could get, guiding the Hikaris' minds in the 'everyone Yami knows' direction.  Except for Grandpa, who has still yet to discover that Yami is, A: An erotic dancer and B: Joint owner of the largest and most popular gay club in Japan.

"Tonight's a one-off though, thank Ra.  From then on it'll be much more straightforward.  With no sequences and no feathers."

I can already taste his impending relief.

Something else occurs to me as I watch him finish his doodle, Yugi glancing over Yami's wrist at it before turning red and looking away.  I direct my thoughts at my lover, his eyes rising from his drawing to meet mine when he senses me watching him.

"So you've pretty much packed in the whole Duelling Champion Extraordinaire thing?  No more clinging to the title of Game King?"

He makes a thoughtful sound before nodding.  "Yugi's skills are more than enough to defend our title, and I can still duel you.  This is just…  It feels more permanent, more of a career."

"And it pays better than struggling for endless weeks for a jackpot prize in tournaments."

A smile.  "Definitely."

There's silence for a few minutes as we all consider the implications of that.  So many things are changing now; Yami and I (almost) have a business going, we're planning on moving out, Yugi and Ryou are attached at the hip and everyone's growing up.  

It all hinges on one thing though, and I vocalise what everyone is thinking with an eloquence that only I can accomplish.

"Tonight had better go well." 

****

"You are not gluing stars to my face."

"Come on, Kura!  It'll look great!"

"No stars.  No glue.  No argument."

"Just a few?"

This argument has been going on for two and a half minutes now and it's doing zilch for my nerves.  Stupid over-stuffed Theo filled with people baying for blood and other fluids.  Why am I doing this again?

"What about just one, right next to your eye here?"

I don't care if he's a partner.  I am going to kill him if he asks one more time.

"Or maybe on your stomach, just-"

"Stu," Yami interjects, saving the guy's life.  "If you're so keen about *someone* wearing the stars, I'll do it.  It's not as if I could look any stupider."

I eye Yami from my chair, taking in his costume.  Dark thick soled boots (they're platforms really, but he won't admit that), baggy orange khakis that are torn almost to shreds to the extent that he might as well not be wearing them, a *teeny* top of the same colour and manacles with oodles of chains.  They're from my basement.  The shackle around his neck we had to buy, but it looks good so I didn't quibble, and it's securing the most important item of all; his handkerchief is trapped under the metal to run down the side of his neck and over his shoulder.  There are nowhere else he could really put it…

Hair tied back tight and his fringe doing fun things, I don't think he looks stupid at all.  The braces hanging from the trousers around the vicinity of his knees look positively delightful in fact.  Might give them a little pull and wait for the butler to come in…

Stu gives him a sympathetic look from where he's hovering in front of us both.  He's decided he's doing our makeup because I've never done this before and Yami nerves are making his hands shaky.  And he's decided that someone's wearing stars if they have to be knocked out first.  For some reason.

"You do not look stupid, Eb.  You look delicious, and they're all going to love you.  Both of you.  Even more with the stars."

Now Yami's going to kill him.  Cool.

Stu notes the expression and drops a few of the tiny little sparkly things onto the dresser, showing that he's only got a half a dozen or so, approaching Yami at the first sign of acceptance.

Whilst our silent partner's affixing stars around Yami's right eye socket, I glance down at myself and pick at bits of my own costume.  Yami did I decent job on us both, I'll give him that, but he's really gone for the uniqueness element as well as the risqué.  I always knew he was something of an attention seeker.  Probably why the little sod got this job in the first place. 

I'm wearing my new Goth boots tonight, deep purple with red-coloured metal running along them up to just under my knee.  Heavy duty but they look fantastic.  My 'trousers' are little more than dozens of strips of dark, shiny material wrapped loosely around my legs connected with two strips of red running down either side from hip to ankle.  

A cross of metal and the same material crosses my chest and back and he's taken the whip part off of four bullwhips and slung them about from the front of my hips to the back and around the cross thingy on my chest.  My handkerchief hands from the connecting loop, draping down my stomach most invitingly. Purple and red strips of material riddled with sequins hang from around my waist and the straps around my biceps, but the best part are the cuffs.  Yami found a white shirt and cut it to pieces, dying and clipping the cuffs around my wrists and the collar around my throat.  Very kinky.

I've spotted a pile of peacock feathers in the corner that worry me though.  I draw the line at feathers.  They tickle.

Dragging my attention away from the feathers as Stu steps away from Yami, I spin the chair to look at my lover.

And start laughing.

Yami scowls at me before spinning the chair around to look in the wall mirror.  He makes some sort of squeaking noise before rounding back on Stu, but Stu's already coming at me with a spray can.  That can't be good…

"I can't believe you did this to me!  I-they…  Damn you to the fifth level of Hades!"

Different.  Usually his insults contain references to camel anatomy.

"That's it, I'm taking them off.  I can't believe you thought this was a good idea."

Stu waves him off still advancing on me.  I grip the arms of the chair in pure terror.

"What are you going to do?" I bite out, not liking the look of 'creative genius' in his eyes.

He gives me an easy, well-practiced smile.  "Just sorting your hair, ducks.  Now hold still and try not to breathe."

Ironically, I could do that for several hours with the Ring, but I've locked that up in the office so I'm stuck with just breathing in small bursts when the spraying stops.  I settle on closing my eyes to avoid being blinded, trusting him (quite likely stupidly) to not bollocks this up.  For several minutes all I hear is spraying as he tugs periodically at my hair.

It sounds like he's doing something interesting with it, at least.  But then, Stu's definition of interesting is…  Well, like how Yami reacted to the stars actually.

Finally the spraying stops and Stu taps my head to tell me it's safe.  Hmm.  I can see black at the corners of my vision.  Might have to check this out.  I'm halfway to looking in the mirror when I catch Yami and freeze.  He's lent over the dresser and picking at the stars.  And not getting anywhere.

"Stu, they aren't coming off."

The words are low, clipped and dripping an undertone of Mind Crush with a twist of Death.

Stu laughs, a rather suicidal action I might add.

"Of course not!  Just dab them with a bit of white spirit when you get home and they'll pop right off.  Don't want them coming away when you're on stage, do you?"  From the look on Yami's face, I think he would quite like that.  "Now you two stay there and I'll go fetch my kit."

I take the opportunity to finally observe the results of Stu's spray-happy session in the mirror.  Oh wow.  First thing tomorrow, I'm buying hair dye.

The spray turned out to be black and Stu has, very professionally, coloured the tips of my hair and then about half the length towards my scalp.  With my hair flicked and spiked, the result is damn effective.   

"Looks good," Yami comments from my left, apparently having finally given up on trying to pick the stars off his face.  They don't look *too* bad, I suppose.

I nod in agreement, carefully poking at the tip of my fringe and watching the wet spray glisten.  "Yeah.  Might have to play with some tin foil and a dye-packet tomorrow."

"Could be fun."  He glances around for Stu who is apparently scavenging up all the makeup he can get his mitts on to apply to our unsullied little faces, walking over to the pile of peacock feathers that I had been dubiously eyeing earlier.

"Those had better not be for me," I say by way of a warning.  The boots, fine.  The bullwhips, fine.  The feathers, not a chance in the fiery chasms of Hell.

Yami picks up one by its tip, twirling it about so that the illusion of an eye faces him, swaying with its delicate tendrils majestically telling me that I need some sort of verbal enema to stop this poetic shit once and for all.

"They're mine.  I think they're pretty, exotic, and I'm not as ticklish as you," he says with a smirk in my direction.  Little bastard.  *One* wrong stroke and I get dubbed as 'ticklish' forever.  

Before I can enquire as to what exactly Yami was *on* when he dreamed up our, unique, costumes, Stu reappears with a large black case.  Dumping it on the table and whipping it open, he immediately turns to me and shoves me back down into my seat.  Yami watches as I steadily disappear under eye shadow and kohl, and I do the same as he's subjected to the same treatment.  It takes half an hour for us both to finish up, and the pounding music from the other side of the wall seems to get louder and louder with every passing minute.

I can't believe quite believe it, but I'm *nervous*.  Yami's barely blinked at the prospect of facing a huge, horny crowd, more consumed with fussing with the peacock feathers he's arranging around his waist.  Twirling quickly for my approval when he's done, I frown when I see his tattoo is prominently on display.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave that uncovered given earlier… hostilities?" I ask slowly, motioning as he approaches me smoothly, feathers swaying gently and giving him an ethereal appearance.

Yami shrugs making the chains covering him rattle.  He doesn't so much as blink at the noise.  He's used to this, but every time a whip touches me I almost jump.  "I know it's uncommon for anyone outside the Yakuza to have a tattoo, particularly a large one like this, but it's highly doubtful that we'll have the police in tonight and no one's ever said anything negative about it before."

I poke absently at a star stuck to his cheek, having not really paid attention to the majority of the answer.  I am suddenly very aware that there's a very big crowd out there and that the first thing they'll be seeing will be Yami and myself.

He obviously senses my nervousness, taking my hand in his and leading me towards the curtain that we will emerge from in mere moments.  My gaze darts about us as I hear the DJ winding down, knowing from all our meticulous planning that our cue's coming up.

/It'll be fine, love.  Once you're out there, you'll be full of energy and on an enormous high, wondering what on earth you had been so worried about/ he sends, affixing a small microphone piece over his ear and adjusting the thin speaking-piece across his jaw. 

I cast him a dubious look, now listening to the drummer on the live band starting a steady rhythm as the base subtly comes to life.  The crowd can tell something's up, the roar getting even louder.  There has to be an echo in here… There can't be that many out there, surely?

Yami fixes my microphone for me, being good enough to ignore my restless hands and uneasy expression.  When he's done tweaking, he takes my hand back into his.

/It's just a case of getting me out there in the first place/ I mentally bite out, counting the beats leading down to our entry.  Ra, I can't do this…  

Sensing that time is fast running out, Yami, takes his hand from mine and cups his own, a ball of Shadow Magic appearing between them spitting energy within moments.  What the hell is he thinking to do with that?

/Try this.  It's like an adrenalin burst; I used to use it when I first started performing.  It'll get you going/ he tells me, our voices useless now over the noise outside.  

It sounds like he's talking about a hefty drug, but what he's holding is pretty much what we're made of, where our energy stems from.  I've always felt rejuvenated when dipping into it for power before, so it'll definitely work.  It's not like it's dangerous…  Aw, screw it.

I shove both hands into the mass just as Yami closes his own fingers into it.

Ecstasy is probably the only word that can describe the feeling of dark magic searing through every vein and throbbing out of every pore as we drain the sphere until it vanishes entirely.  Part of me is eerily calm and detached whilst the rest of me is almost quivering with energy, ready to tackle anything.

Looking to Yami I see that he's in the same state, but there's apparently more to it than that.  His pupils contract as I watch down to the size of pinheads before expanding to be fully dilated, a freaky sight in two seconds I can assure anyone.  His irises are glowing magnificently as is the gold and red in his hair, his skin glimmering with a barely-perceptible glow as well.  From the excited and slightly aroused grin he gives me, I can only assume that my body's in a similar state.

Yami's grin turns wicked as he reaches up a hand and grasps the curtain in fingers trembling from power and energy, his eyes daring me, urging me.  I grin back, my hand reaching up to clutch the accompanying curtain, ready to reveal us to the masses.

/Let's give 'em Hell/

There's nothing but white as the beams from the spotlights crash down on us, but we stride determinedly out onto the stage in different directions, our arms raised and whips and chains battering around us deliciously.  I want to laugh.  I have no idea why, but I want to laugh low and deep and long and drown in this feeling of euphoria until my last non-breathe escapes me.

Yami starts it off though, his head dipped and eyes wild, nothing like the regal and composed leader I faintly remember.  "Gentlemen, we bid you welcome to the grand reopening of Theo!"  A flash of light from behind us, reducing us to nothing but back shapes with glowing eyes as the base guitar notches up a few decibels.  

I finish walking to the very edge of the stage, standing with feet apart and a hand on my hip, the other toying with the whip where it runs from just above my crotch to down by my side.  "And we do hope you enjoy your stay."  

My tone is low and silky whereas Yami's was driven with energy.  Quite a good contrast from the sounds of it.  

Working on a sudden and inexplicable impulse, I all but swagger towards Yami and take a fistful of the chains by his waist, yanking them sharply so that he's pulled off balance and into me.  He makes no sound of alarm, looking rather pleased at his new position as I hold him with one arm, the other fingering the links of the chains about his wrists.

"Shots half price for the first song," I announce, looking down into Yami's eyes as I speak and captivating the crowd through curiosity at our positions.  My eyes snap up to regard everyone.  "And body shots go for free!" I shout, shoving Yami upright and gesturing to the bar in the wall, the whips snapping violently with a loud crack.  

There's an uproar of cheers and a storm for the bar as the band finally kicks it into high gear behind us.  Yami and I drop down into opposite ends of the throng just as the singers and guitarists appear, greeting with slaps to various parts of our bodies and exclaimed appreciation for tonight.  Tossing our mikes up onto the stage to be picked up later, we get lost in the bodies.

I bounce around on my own personal high for quite some time, fuelled by the atmosphere just as much as the magic running amuck in my body, finally bumping into Yami again about half an hour later.  

Ah, Malik.  It's been a while since I've seen him.  Figured he would come to a place like this at one time or another.  It was painfully obvious that he was gay just from the earrings, not to mention his strange attraction to his beloved Rod.  Even I don't hold my Item in such high regard.  Bet he sleeps with it…

Right now Malik has his arms crossed high behind his head, his face one of unbridled amazement as he stares at Yami.

"Ra, just how much magic have you taken?  No wonder you're glowing!"

Yami responds with a sultry smile, reaching over Malik's shoulder to grab at one of the whips I'm attached to and pulling me into them both.  After a bit of a struggle concerning limbs and costumes, Malik manages to unravel himself from us both, laughing outright.

Practically purring as his eyes shimmer boldly, Yami leans out of my embrace and flicks at Malik's left earring, he his head tipping and twisting like a mewling cat.  "Why Malik, I had no idea you were so inclined," he murmurs smoothly, staring into wide purple eyes with his lips parted.

Malik raises his hands defensively, almost taking a step back but remaining stationary under Yami's gaze.  "Hey, not *so* inclined: just bi."

Yami pouts and I find myself joining in the game, tipping my head to the side and stroking Yami's cheek as if to comfort him.  "Well that explains the pile of het' porn in your room."

My lover 'hmm's loudly, his head tipping drunkenly to the other side as his hand reaches out for Malik's face again.  "I'm glad.  I would have been *so* terribly disappointed if that were not the case."  Then he starts laughing, low and unrestrained, almost hysterically.

Malik's hands return to the back of his head and this time he does take a step back.  He smiles bemused and utters something that sounded distinctively like 'fucking hell' before wandering away, leaving me to twist Yami in my arms.  A quick kiss, a little grope to take the edge off the lust, and then we head off to seek out the rest of our merry party.

****

Well, I think I can say with an absolute certainty that tonight's been a hit.  Because of the sheer volume of people in here tonight, it's taken me a very long time to find Ryou and co.  Yami and I got separated some time ago and someone's talked him into dancing (I'm betting that was Stu) so now the both of them are up on stage with a few other dances performing some of the old sets.  He's enjoying himself as much as I am, the magic still bouncing around us giving the joy-joys an even bigger push.

Sitting at a table on the uttermost balcony where I can hear myself speak, I'm sandwiched between pretty much everyone I know.  Ryou and Yugi are getting the heat on opposite me, the atmosphere getting to them as much as everyone else.  Devlin and Honda are looking a tad uncomfortable to my left, Tea and Mai are dancing down by the stage and Kaiba and Joey are somewhere off to my right, having a 'quiet moment' according to Ryou.  I call that a likely snogfest, but they're finally getting on so I'm not going to go and find out which of us was right.

Apparently there had been quite a few developments on that front when I was 'away', namely the Pup getting caught in a storm and Kaiba grudgingly breaking his fever at his mansion.  Even an idiot can deduce the end of that little fairytale.  They're not a confessed couple yet, but it certainly looks like it's heading that way.

I find all of this enormously amusing.  Within this little circle of ours, there are now (nearly) three gay couples.  Fair enough, there are only two women and one of those is horrifically annoying, but still, there are other people in Domino!  Most of them seem to have squeezed in here tonight, but there's a choice outside of the group!  I think the only really straight people in here tonight are Honda and Anzu.  

Devlin I'm convinced is a closet bi –again, long hair and an earring, plus he's naturally sensuous, and Mai…  She's a puzzler.  She's confident so she wouldn't go closet and doesn't seem to really go either way, although she does have a soft spot for the blond currently connected to our resident CEO.  I think she's just *sexual*, particularly given the moves she doing down by the stage.

I finish the drink I've been nursing through my musings and contemplate getting another one.  It's too packed to get to the bar and I'm not exactly thirsty.  Think I'll leave it a bit, sit here and soak up the ambience.

I actually think I can safely assume that quite a few people in here aren't gay, come to think of it.  There is no way there are this many in Domino.  Word could've gotten around outside the city and men have come for the night, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of people have just come for the sake of a good party.  I saw a pack of Goths lurking around at one point, which is usually a good indication of that.

Ryou finally breaks away from Yugi, Yami's Hikari moving over to drag Honda and Devlin to their feet.  Orange handkerchief on the left?  That's…  'Anytime, anywhere, top'.  Well I never.  Guess he has a bit more in common with Yami than I thought.  Ryou's wearing a light brown one, so I suppose as long as he gets his hugs in their relationship works out well.  I'm learning more than I wanted to about them out of this night I think.

Yugi flashes a grin at me and then drags his two captives away and down the stairs, leaving Ryou to come over and sit next to me

Ah, he wants a quiet word.  This should be fun.

"What is it, Ryou?" I ask just as he opens his mouth to speak.  It's a dominance thing.

"I just wanted to say that I think that you and Yami-Yugi have done an excellent job with this place.  You both seem really happy," he states, having to speak a lot louder than he would normally just to be heard even at this close a range.

"It's the atmosphere.  Could get anyone on a high.  Even Kaiba looked like he was enjoying himself."  I don't think I should tell Ryou about the whole 'ball of Shadow Magic' thing.  It'd only worry him and piss me off, thus putting him at risk from my temper.  Nothing hectic or bloody: I'd probably just end up putting cheese in his hair or something.

His big eyes regard me for long moments, picking me apart uncomfortably as he thinks.  I bite the inside of my cheek to restrain myself.  I really hate people looking at me like that.

"Does it feel weird?"  Huh?  "You know, knowing that you've lost a whole month while Zel was in control?  Does it feel weird?"

I don't like where this is going.  I haven't possessed him in months, damnit!  And I have absolutely no inclination to do it again nor have I shown any!  What more does he want from me?  A friggin apology?!  

I make my words even, not taking my eyes off his as I speak.  "Not really.  From my point of view I didn't lose the month.  It just happened a whole lot differently to what you all experienced in 'reality'."  Like me telling Yami that I loved him.  I was very angry when I realised that that was something else that hadn't actually happened.  There hasn't been an opportunity since…  All right fine, I haven't got the balls to say it because I don't know what he'll do or if it'll jinx something.

Ryou says something else to me before patting my shoulder and standing, off to find Yugi or annoy someone else.  I finish his drink and decide to hunt down Yami.  He's not on stage anymore so he must be back among the crowd, 'meeting and greeting' as it were.

I bump into Rishid on my way down, obviously following Malik who's around somewhere, and we exchange a neutral nod as we pass each other.  Opening the bond and laughing out loud at the flurry of emotion on his end, I follow its guidance until I'm in the very centre of what has become a mosh pit.  

Wrapping my arms around my lover's waist, I pull him back into me and delight in the fact that he continues his sinuous movements against me, his hands raising to toy with my face and hair behind him.  The peacock feathers are partially crushed between us, but their feathery caress upon us both is most pleasant.  I nip at the nape of his neck, just above the heavy collar and hear him sigh pleasingly.

Craning his head back, Yami manages to get his mouth level with my ear, nipping briefly before speaking.  "I've been getting tips on what I can do with these chains of mine."

I nuzzle into him with my eyes closed, the music and crowd fuzzing in my hearing as the world is reduced to just the two of us for a few moments.  "Is that right.  Anything we haven't tried yet?"

A grin.  "A couple of things.  I'll show you later."

Yup, Theo's premier was definitely a cracking success.  I'm effectively getting paid and laid in the same night, the money's going to keep on rolling in and Yami and I can move out of Ryou's house and into our own place.

And then I can have a *really* big dungeon.

****

Hope you liked this phenomenally (for me at least) long update, and thanks for sticking around after the delay in updates.  The full Hankie Rules can be found on a site that is addressed in my bio.  I have used it without permission as I couldn't get hold of the writer, but I'm giving credit so I avoid shouting.  It is GRAPHIC though so I implore the underage and immature to keep out of it and don't come sticking blame on me if you ignore the warning and your eyes melt or summut.  It is a damn cool site though…

Please review with comments, fav. lines/parts and of course any queries that you have about the previous chapter.  There'll be an FAQ at the start of the next chapter.

Borath ;p


	18. Moving

And die of shock….. Now.  This instalment was satanic to write.  Really.  And you can probably tell due to quality, but bugger it, it's done now.  Woohoo!

Right, a quick breakdown of what happened with Bakura and Zel for those of you who were confused:  When Kaiba had the seizure, Zel zipped out of Yami and into Bakura via Yami's skull being pressed against the scar, which is actually a sort of magical imprint.  Think Bakura putting a bit of himself into that Puzzle piece and you'll have it.  So, then Zel fabricates reality and keeps Bakura's mind in a limbo whilst he carries on in the real world for a few weeks masquerading as Bakura.  He gets away with it up until the Yakuza descend upon Theo and then Yami puts two and two together.  They then tie 'Bakura' down to the dining room table for a few days and Yami works to get his lover back via the careful art of magically beating the living daylights out of Zel's essence.  Zel shits himself and tries to trick Bakura into rejecting Yami's intruding voice and stay in the fake reality he's created, but love prevails and all that.  Bakura passes out and Yami dumps him in bed and waits around until he wakes up.  And that's that.

Xing (God of this site) has gotten funny about reviewer responses now so names will only be mentioned I'm afraid.  I wish I could say something to everyone who took the time and effort, but after the 'Submission' incident, I don't want to risk it.

So, a big thanks to: Zorra Lombardi, Sasameyuki, Karachi, Amarin Rose, HMOC , MrsHiwatari, Tuulikki, Marron-chan1, Renee the Rabid Squirrel, YumeTakato, BlingBling021, Pachelbel, DaredevilX, Starlit Hope, Blue September and Amiasha Ruri.

Another thanks to Pachelbel for looking this over for me and giving me suggestions.  The costume picks have gone down the pan I'm afraid due to sheer shiteness.  I can't draw anime at all. ;;

Anyway, hope you like this weird little addition to 'Experiment'.  Back to plotless wonder here, I'm afraid.

Moving

We have our own place!  Three months slogging our guts out at the (hugely successful) club and three payslips have meant a deposit and a moving into of our very own home!  Yugi and Ryou are calling it our love nest for which I colourfully threatened them, but even that did not dampen my glee. 

No more Hikaris scurrying around my ankles, no more spit-of-a-bedroom to sleep in, no more shouts of 'you can't have an iron maiden in your room'!  And I get Yami at all hours of the day!  So happy!

Right.  I've had my moment now.  It has passed.

… Yay me!

It's two in the morning and I'm on my own, so no one heard that.  Plus I said it in my head.  Or did I?  Sleep deprivation is doing funny things to me.  And Yami.  Any changes that take place in my bad-arse nature can also be attributed to him.

Ah, Yami's.  It was his turn to run Theo tonight and I'm expecting him back in the next half hour.  As pathetic as it sounds, I have trouble sleeping when he's not around now.  I guess that because after we moved in here and were with each other pretty much every night, to not have him in bed feels unnatural.  He say's he's got the same problem and that he's watched a lot of Jackass and The Rocky Horror Show as of late.

I spend my time far more productively.  By midnight I had gone through all of this weeks bills and come up with a plan of action of how to tackle them, have sharpened all my weapons and have made three trays of muffins.  I'm definitely the managerial body here, which is handy as Yami has shown signs of wanting to worm out of the co-owner position and just get back to dancing and serving for a living.  Meh.  I'd just double his salary and tell Stu what I've done.  Favouritism's a bitch. 

"Bakura?  Where the Hell are you in this labyrinth you call a house?"

Oh.  And in my spare time I've been taking care of that.

I walk out of the kitchen into the hallway and flick on the light, grinning to myself when I hear Malik's exclamation of pain from the sudden and unexpected illumination.  Hearing him following me back into the room, I return to stirring the concoction I've got going in a pot on the stove. 

Malik starts bitching the second my back's turned, undoubtedly jumping up onto what's become his sideboard and staring at me.  I'm beginning to regret letting him and Rishid staying here.  I don't really remember why they're even here actually. Something to do with insects maybe.  They probably haven't got a good enough reason anyway, and it was just Yami's squishy heart that let them through the damn door.  They haven't been a hassle over the last two days and they'll be gone by the end of the week, so I don't feel a need to throw them out of a window just yet.

"How many rooms do you need for two people?" he exclaims. It's an old tune that I've heard from too many people now.  Actually, I was the first one to utter it when Yami and I were leaving this place after viewing it as a potential home.  I believe the conversation went something like this:

Me: Yami, we do not need that many rooms.

Yami: We can have lots of spare rooms.  Beside, it's the only place that's capable of supporting life within our budget.

Me: It used to be a brothel.  Excuse me for being a bit quirky about that.

Yami: They're letting us keep the bondage if we want it.

Me: … I loved that place from the moment I set eyes on it.  Just make sure-

Yami: -we wash the leathers?  Of course.  The mattresses are being burnt as well.

Me: Ah, a housewarming burning.  How lovely.

And burn them we did, with many people and a great deal of alcohol around to celebrate the occasion.  The flames were a disturbingly odd colour and there was a noxious smell of something the following morning, but still.  It was lovely, unlike redecorating the damn place.  We couldn't leave the bright and anatomically incorrect frescos that had been painted in every room, no matter how amusing there were.  The bloody Hikaris would not stop blushing every time they were here.  Personally I had come to consider them a pretty good deterrent against people, but Yami insisted they had to go.

He did, however, admit that I was right about the excess amount of rooms when he realized that we'd have to completely repaint no less than six 'bedrooms' as well as what we've turned into the living room and our newly-installed kitchen.  But then he often has to bow down to my superior wit and intelligence because I'm great.  On the decorating front, it was handy as, oddly enough, no one wanted this place so we got it reasonably cheap, and with a mortgage that isn't going to kill us, there was plenty of cash to spend on paint and furniture. 

I went to work on the second day of Painting Week, returning to find that Yami had gotten pissed off halfway through the third room and made the Dark Magician do it.  He did a pretty good job of it too, seemingly happy enough to be useful again after sitting dormant for so long, although I don't think painting a room terracotta was what he had had in mind.  Apparently Yami had had to make the Puzzle glow very brightly in his face before commanding him to put down the lavender paint, which was destined to go in our room.

I jumped on the Duel-Monster-Slave bandwagon the next day when Yami was out, something that I regretted quite quickly.  Man Eater Bug with a roller is a funny sight but not very productive.  He seemed psychotically keen to attack the walls though, so I ended up just shutting him in and keeping Yami away until he was done, taking the credit afterwards. 

I think some magic crept into the operation at some point as what should have been a tasteful cream had turned a psychedelic orange shade at some point.  Ah well.  We'll just stick the ceiling mirrors out of the terracotta room in there to cover most of it.  The light is good in there as well, making it a pretty good place for Yami to practice routines.

Said mirrors will also hide the claw marks, which had been pretty hard to explain without sounding like a Duel Monsters Oppressor, but I think he bought it.

Right now though, Malik kicks around on my sideboard again, and I make a mental note to make him scrub off the marks with his toothbrush.  "Can I just ask-"

Didn't give me a lot of choice there, did you?  I hate it when people do that.  Like when they go into a room that could probably be mistaken for the Sistine Chapel and say, 'big, isn't it?'. 

 "-why are you cooking in the middle of the night?"

Because I want to.  Because I live here.  Because it's my house and I shall utilise my stuff how and when I chose, and no one has any right to tell me what to do in my domain.  Except Yami.  Because he's a co-conspirator, not because I am whipped and will do what he says.  Oi, need sleep.  No, need to hire more staff, sleep with Yami and then sleep.  Yes, a good plan.

"Yami's due back soon.  He's always starving when he gets in and I don't like him raiding the fridge and taking my pickles, and since I'm up…" I shrug a little, stirring the goopy mess absently.  Ra knows what I've got in this pot, but it smells good and tastes better so I'll just run with it.  And we're not going to be one of those career-driven couples that live out of the microwave.  At least as career-driven as two club owners can get.

"Hmm.  I didn't expect you to be this… sensitive."

I scowl fleetingly consider chucking in a few chillies to make this more macho but decide against it.  Wouldn't work with the cream.  I chuck a chilli at his face instead and glower at my own poor aim when it misses his mouth and eyes and gets his nose instead.  Will need to work on that.

"It gives me something to do so shut up, and you eat it too so I'd be very careful in what you say about my cooking."

Hmm.  Need a ladle…  I turn to face Malik and point to the item hanging from a hook just behind his head.  He hands it to me obediently, placing his hands back on the edge of the counter immediately afterwards and eyeing the muffins on the table.  I give him a stern look and he quits drooling before I have to wrestle him back out of the kitchen. 

That'd be an interesting thing for Yami to come back to: a half dressed drooling Malik groping against me on the table. I shake my head to clear the mental image.  I'd be sleeping on a couch in the darkest and farthest point of the Shadow Realm for a century, at least.  Mind, the wrestling and table elements seem like a nice idea…

"Another question?"

I sigh.  This is going to be a long night.  I should have gagged and bound him to the spare bed as I suggested on his first night here.  Yami wouldn't have it though.  Mind, he was quite distracted playing Scrabble with Rishid at the time so if I did it now I could claim he said I could and just didn't remember.  That would involve wrestling, a flight of stairs and ruining the contents of this pot though.  I might as well just let him pester me here.  "Go on then."

"What's in those locked rooms?"

I roll my eyes, more than a little pissed that he's gone up to the third floor when he had absolutely no need to other than to nose around.  "First one's full of stuff that you have no business knowing about."

That means weaponry and all the stuff that we kept from the out-of-business brothel.  Washed, of course.  The mirrors are lying in a pile in there at the moment to be moved down and screwed in on the second floor in the next few days.  Heh.  'Screwed'…  Ra, I'm lame.  Yami, get your arse home now before I go completely loopy.

"The second's a portal we've managed to sustain into the Shadow Realm."

He looks surprised and a little worried.  A feeling of immense satisfaction bounces around my gut.  It's hard to get one-over on Malik most of the time, so when it is actually managed the feeling is extra-sweet. 

"You guys have a bit of the Shadow Realm in your house?"

I nod, not thinking a great deal of it myself.  It was Yami who pulled it off and I must say that I'm very impressed with him.  Hmm, need more chives here.  "Yeah.  We think it'll be a good place to develop photos."

Moving to the fridge I see that his expression turns, if possible, even more disbelieving.  Mission accomplished.  Malik has this little thing where he prides himself on screwing with people's heads.  I just got one over on him to quite a large extent.  So ha.

Turning back to dinner/breakfast, I chuck in the chives, swipe my finger through it and taste it just as I hear the front door open.  Mmm.  Tastes good.  I'm definitely going to earn lots of brownie points off of this.

A shout of, "honey, I'm home" and then Yami sweeps into the kitchen, completely ignoring Malik and wrapping an arm around me.  I kiss his temple as he glances into the pot, quirking a brow as a bubble pops at him.  Then his nose crinkles as he smiles.

/You're sweet, you know that?/

He at least had the good sense to say that privately.  I don't want to think what Malik would do if he heard that. 

Sliding the duffel bag off of his shoulder onto the table, I watch him pick up a muffin and begin to pick it apart, his eyes on his own hands.  "'Kura…"

About fifty warning bells go off in my head at that nickname and tone.  Yami always does that when he wants something that he'd otherwise need to fight me tooth and nail for.  The fact that he's buttering my up in front of Malik doesn't bode well for me either.  The psychotic little twit is watching us both quite bemused.  I toy with the idea of hitting him with the dirty ladle that I'm now using to spoon out our meal with.

Yami finally looks up at me and I can feel that rather than see it.  I hear his intake of breath though and my brow quirks minutely in anticipation.  "I talked to Stu about hiring another duty manager or two and having me sticking to stage work, and he thinks it's a really good idea.  There really is too much to go between two people."

I pause in serving, turning on him slowly and brandishing the ladle like a weapon.  Goop drips onto the floor but I don't care.  Malik can clean it later.  "I said we were going to talk about that before running to Stu with it."

Yami gives me a lazy smile, his lids lowering.  "You said I could talk to him about it."

And undermine my own authority?  Never!  "When?"

He smirks.  Ah.  Right.  Then.  That little shit.  That was a very underhanded method and honestly I'm a bit miffed about having it used against me.  I've been a bad influence on the lad apparently.  "Alright, fine, but next time your eyes are rolled so far back you're staring at your own brain I'll ask if I can build a go-kart circuit on the roof."

A frown and the smirk vanishes.  "That's just ridiculous."

"Bet it would be fun to try though."

Yami doesn't look like he's to be deterred though, putting down the once-beautiful-yet-now-mutilated-muffin and placing his hands on his hips.  Malik remains ever watching and, for his own safety no doubt, silent as he eats.  "Kura, I'm simply not cut out for this management lark-"

If that isn't irony then I don't know what is.  "Oh, because you've never had to look after a large group of people and financial affairs as you would, say, when ruling a bloody country."  I go turn my back on him and finish ladling out my concoction, picking up my bowl and a spoon and then hopping up on the side to eat it.

"Yeah Yami.  You can't just pretend to have amnesia so you can dance around half naked without any responsibilities.  That's just rude," Malik mumbles around his spoon, his bowl held close to his chin.  I have to smile at him.  He may be an irritating pest but at least he's on my side.

Yami glares at him for a moment before walking towards me to pick up his own serving.  Obviously deciding to ignore Malik's little input, his expression turns sardonic and nonplussed.  "That was centuries ago and you know I barely remember it.  Besides, I enjoy the dancing and I'm better at it."

"Keeps your arse tight as well."  I really didn't mean to say that, even if it was only a barely-audible mumble.  It was audible enough though as Yami blushes brightly and Malik starts laughing hysterically before choking on his spoon.  Neither of us help him.

"Look, if you don't let me I'll just quit and reapply through Stu for a dancing job."  Little sod's apparently put a lot of thought into this.  Well, I might as well concede as if I don't he'll get miserable which means he won't put out and then I'll get miserable and kill Malik or something.  And we can't be having that when he still hasn't cleaned my boot-scuffed cabinets.

Gesturing with my spoon as I swallow, I look at Yami with an expression of utmost seriousness.  This is a business thing after all.  "So I'd be your boss?"  A nod.  He seems quite happy with that.  "You'd be beneath me?"

He smirks and an image that strongly resembles one of the murals we painted over except with slightly different faces gets rammed down the bond and into my head.  I choke a little bit in surprise, causing Malik to laugh even more.  Finally getting control of myself, a nod affirmatively to show my agreement before forcefully handing a second bowl of goop to Malik in the hopes that if he keeps eating he'll be less irritating.  Well, no one said hopes had to be realistic. 

I take another spoonful and decide to catch up on Theo events.  It's quite remarkable how much can happen there in a day.  The people there are rather 'colourful', so that isn't too surprising.  "So what else happened tonight?"

Yami pauses in his own eating, and I'm pleased to see that he's enjoying it.  He gets so much exercise now that I need to practically force food down his throat to get his diet to keep up.  He's lithe as it is and I don't want him to start loosing weight, as he certainly doesn't need to.  "Midge and Raethorn broke up again."

I snort into my bowl with barely contained amusement whilst Malik pipes up, obviously wanting to be involved in this conversation.  "Midge and Raethorn?"

I shudder at the mispronunciation.   "It's 'ray-fon', idiot.  He's one of the bar staff and half of what might as well be an old married couple."

Yami puts his empty bowl onto the table and joins in, sounding almost bored.  "Midge is a divorcee and discovered his bisexual tendency about a year ago."

"Which, coincidently, was a pretty big factor in his marriage going to Hell.  The pool boy played quite a big role too," I chip in.  Midge and Raethorn break up almost seasonally so this is a story I've heard and told many times. 

Nodding, Yami lowers his hand from where he has gestured at me and my contribution and returns to looking at Malik.  "They were doomed from the start but, after eight months-"

"Of which about six collectively they were actually together-"

"- They're still pretty much an item.  Midge threw a bottle at his head tonight for some reason, and I've put my bet in the pool that they'll be back together by Thursday."  Shrugging with a small smile, quite possibly at the fact that our relationship isn't quite that dysfunctional, Yami then picks up the mutilated muffin and breaks off a small piece, chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Thursday's only four days away.  Average is about six for them so I would've gone for Saturday at the earliest."  Mental note: place bet when at work later. 

"We'll see; it's their three-day mini-break on Friday don't forget, so I think they'll have made up by then.  Oh, we had a couple of girls in to apply for the audition tomorrow."  He frowns a little and looks up at the ceiling, counting off each name on his hand as he speaks.  "Vicky, Jenny and 'Madam Cinnamon', I think."

I snort derisively.  "I don't care what they call themselves as long as I get a criminal background check and their bank details if they're hired.  We can stick the new duty manager on their nights.  I'll help audition them though.  Might be worth a giggle."

Yami looks a tad apprehensive again now.  Since when did he get so skittish?  "That's the other thing; with auditions on we're going to have no where to practice this new routine.  Could I bring the guys back here to work on it?  We can put those mirrors up in the orange room and practice there."

Obviously my expression of surprise, disgust and fear is quite comical as both Yami and Malik smile amusedly at me whilst I digest that suggestion.  "You do remember the dancers, don't you?"  I ask carefully after a moment.  The fact that Yami's even conceiving this disturbs me on a deep and profound level.  "Half of them have got fetishes that even freak me out, and the last thing I want is Stu, 'call me muffin or I'll sexually assault you when you're not looking', knowing where I live."

His arms crossed in a posture that mirrors my own, Yami smiles at me sickeningly.  "Come now, Bakura.  He only does that because he likes you."  Stupid git.

"He doesn't if he knows what's good for him."  My tone may have been a bit of overkill there, and I think that the pocket of Shadow Realm billowing out behind me may perhaps fall under that category as well. 

Neither of them look impressed.  Malik's polishing off his second serving and Yami has still got his arms crossed.  "You know I'll have them over anyway so you might as well give in now."

The sad thing is he's right.  "Alright, fine.  But I want to be here to keep an eye on them all.  And none of them go up to the third floor.  The last thing we need is to drag some traumatised pole dancer out of the Shadow Realm, and I for one can't be bothered to erase any memories."

Yami smiles and I get a happy little tingle of contentment sweeping down the bond.  Something else tags along with it making my hands twitch for a moment and I can tell that he's quite grateful.  Right, so will now hand Malik his toothbrush and lock him in here with cleaning fluid, stop by upstairs to pick up a few toys and then do wicked, wicked things for the next few hours.

Yes, I certainly like this independence thing.

Yup, everyone is now officially OOC.  (Sighs) Ah well, bugger it.  Not sure what's happening with the next instalment; if it'll appear, what it'll be and if it'll be in Bakura's POV still, but we shall see.  Hope this hasn't been a disappointment after such a long wait, and that I've at least entertained you for a few minutes.


End file.
